Romania’s High Court (ICCJ) approved prosecutors’ request to reopen a trial against former President Ion Iliescu related to the crimes committed in Bucharest against anti-communist protesters by the miners who allegedly acted at the President’s request. Specifically, the case is related to the death of four protesters on the night of June 13-14 (before the miners arrived in Bucharest), Hotnews.ro reported.

Iliescu, besides minister of interior Mihai Chitac, is investigated for manslaughter.

The file was initiated by the prosecutors in 2007, but it was rejected by Laura Codruta Kovesi - at that time head Prosecutor - and the prosecutors of the Head Prosecutor’s Office decided in 2008 not to go further in court with the case. In November 2021, however, the prosecutors of the same Prosecutor’s Office scrapped the decision issued by the same office (not necessarily the same prosecutors) and decided to proceed with the investigations. The ICCJ, by its recent decision, allowed them to go ahead with the investigations.

The June 13-15 events, which took place in 1990, marked the end of the anti-communist street protests in Bucharest against the reformed communists who retained power after the fall of former President Nicolae Ceausescu in December 1989.

There is another case opened by the prosecutors related to the June 13-15 events.

The prosecutors’ case related to the events that took place immediately after President Ceausescu abandoned the power on December 22, 1989, was scrapped earlier this year - 31 years after the events.

andrei@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)