Radio România Internațional

Tag: anti-communist

  • November 23, 2019

    November 23, 2019

    ELECTIONS In Romania, the campaign for the second round of the presidential election, due on November 24, has come to a close this morning at 7 am. Competing are the incumbent president Klaus Iohannis, endorsed by the National Liberal Party now in power, and the former Social Democrat PM Viorica Dancilă. The Permanent Election Authority has announced that the Electoral Register has been updated and the total number of voters in the roll is 18,217,411. In the first round, in which 14 candidates took part, Klaus Iohannis got nearly 38% of the votes, and Viorica Dăncilă a little over 22%. The voter turnout was 51.19%. In the Romanian communities abroad, where the vote took place over 3 days, record-high turnout was reported, with over 675,000 people showing up in polling stations. For Sundays runoff as well, the 835 polling stations abroad are open for 3 days, Friday through Sunday, with the possibility for the vote to be extended until midnight on Sunday. The number of Romanians
    having voted abroad in the runoff suggests a higher turnout than in the first round. The vote rate increased in the
    past few hours, after polling stations reopened in all the countries in Europe,
    which host the largest Romanian communities in the world. First ranking are the
    Romanians in Italy, the UK, Germany, Spain and the Republic of Moldova.




    GAUDEAMUS 8,000 book stands have been put up as part of the Gaudeamus Book Fair organised in Bucharest by Radio Romania, in an edition devoted to the 30 years since the anti-communist revolution of 1989. During the 5 days of the Fair, 900 different events are scheduled, including book launches, debates and book signing sessions. Today, on the 4th day of the Fair, Prof. Thierry Wolton takes part in the launch of the second volume of his trilogy “A World History of Communism. In this volume, entitled ‘The Victims’, Thierry Wolton speaks about the tens of millions that suffered imprisonment, deportation, torture and even extermination for their anti-communist beliefs.




    COLECTIV After the Bucharest Court completed its investigations, on Monday the prosecution and the defence will present their closing statements in the case concerning the fire in Colectiv night club in Bucharest 4 years ago, in which 64 people died, one committed suicide further to the trauma and 200 others were injured. The Colectiv trial started in April 2016. After 2 years of deferrals over procedural matters, the judge assigned to the case retired, and during another year the new judge has heard the statements of scores of witnesses and victims.




    DiscoverEU Youth of over 18 years of age may enrol by November 28 in a programme called DiscoverEU, which enables them to travel free of charge in the European Union. Eligible applicants must be citizens of one of the member states and fill in an online form. This is an initiative of the European Parliament, designed to provide young people with new mobility opportunities. The selected candidates will be able to travel, especially by train, for max. 30 days between April 1 and October 31, 2020. Since the programme was launched in 2018, Romania offered nearly 2,000 such permits, out of a total of 50,000 issued in the EU.




    UN The 15 members of the UN Security Council endorsed a declaration reaffirming the ban on chemical weapons. The Council has reached a consensus long undermined by the war in Syria, and the Skripal affair in the UK or Kim Jong-nam case in Malaysia, AFP reports. The Council reaffirms that the use of chemical weapons is a violation of international law, and declares its firm opposition to it. The declaration, proposed by Great Britain, was passed unanimously. The UN Security Council urges all states that have not yet done so to sign the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons, which was signed in 1993 and came into force in 1997. Syria joined the Convention in 2013, Israel has signed it, but is yet to ratify it, whereas North Korea, Egypt and South Sudan are not yet parties to this Convention.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • May 24, 2018 UPDATE

    May 24, 2018 UPDATE

    SUMMIT US president Donald Trump on Thursday announced that he had sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announcing him about his decision to cancel their historic summit in Singapore on June 12th. President Trump has invoked what he has called the tremendous anger and open hostility in Pyongyangs most recent statement. The summit had been established in the wake of the historical meeting in April between the North Korean leader and South-Korean president Moon Jae-in in the demilitarized zone at the common border. North Korea has recently announced it has dismantled its main nuclear test site.



    MEMORANDUM Romanias Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu on Thursday said he stood against the declassification of the recently approved memorandum by the government on the possible relocation of Romanias embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Romanian official has also said the decision on this issue belongs to the Social-Democratic Prime Minister Viorica Dancila. A survey on the relocation of the diplomatic representation is to be completed within a month. The governments intention to relocate the embassy has sparked off heated debates between the ruling PSD-ALDE coalition and the countrys president Klaus Iohannis backed by the Liberal opposition.




    ECONOMY The Romanian Government will further pursue a tax reduction policy, also meant to increase the minimum wage and state pensions by 2020, in an attempt to improve living standards, the president of the Social Democratic Party, the main party in the ruling coalition, Liviu Dragnea told Reuters on Wednesday. He added that choosing an optional private pension scheme might become optional. The European Commission estimates that Romania will register a deficit of 3.4% of the GDP this year, exceeding the 2.9% target, if no supplementary measures are taken to reduce costs. Liviu Dragnea is hopeful however that the Romanian Government will observe the deficit target without taking other measures and he confirmed the 5.5% economic growth target for this year. According to Dragnea, by 2020, social contributions will further be reduced, the minimum wage will be of at least 300 Euros, whereas the minimum pension will increase to 200 Euros.




    REVOLUTION FILE Romanias former PM, Petre Roman, on Thursday appeared for hearings at the Prosecutor Generals Office in the 1989 anti-communist Revolution case, in which he is accused of crimes against humanity. Last month, Romanias president Klaus Iohannis, approved the prosecutors request to start prosecution, against Romanias former leftist president, Ion Iliescu, Petre Roman and the former deputy Prime Minister Gelu Voican Voiculescu. They allegedly orchestrated a military diversion, meant to give them legitimacy as leaders of the then newly instated power, after dictator Nicolae Ceausescu fled Bucharest city. 1,166 people died in December 1989, over 800 of them loosing their lives after Ceausescu was toppled. This week, Ion Iliescu also went to the Prosecutor Generals Office where prosecutors told him the investigation against him has been extended. Both Roman and Iliescu rejected the accusations.



    (translated by bill)





  • December 19, 2017 UPDATE

    December 19, 2017 UPDATE

    LEGISLATION – The Senate of Romania Tuesday endorsed a bill modifying the statute of magistrates, in the absence of Opposition MPs. At the time of the vote, the MPs of the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the Peoples Movement Party left the hall, leaving only the Social Democrats, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats and the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania to cast their votes. Several amendments, previously turned down both by the Chamber of Deputies and the special parliamentary commission that analysed the bill, were passed by the Senate, at the proposal of the Social Democratic Party. The most important of them has to do with the concept of judicial error, which entails magistrates liability in case of fault or negligence. Prosecutors or judges having committed a judicial error will therefore be held liable. The Opposition announced it would take the text endorsed by the Senate to the Constitutional Court. Also on Tuesday, Romanian MPs continued debates on other major bills in a package designed to change the judicial framework, namely the bill on judicial organisation and the bill regulating the Higher Council of Magistrates. Meanwhile, hundreds of magistrates gathered in front of courts of justice around Romania, to protest the changes that the ruling coalition intend to operate on the justice laws in what they see as a less than transparent process.




    COMMEMORATION – Commemorative events continue in Timisoara, western Romania, to mark 28 years since the 1989 anti-communist revolution and in memory of those who lost their lives. Events will continue until December 20, Victory Day, when Timisoara will play host to a rock concert. Started out as a grassroots movement against the local authorities abusive decisions, the revolution spread quickly across the country, and led to the demise of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu on December 22. Over 1,000 people were killed and nearly 3,400 were wounded over December 16-25. Romania was the only country from the Soviet bloc where the anti-communist revolution ended in violence with the dictatorial couple being executed. Prosecutors with the Military Prosecutors Office on Monday said a military diversion was orchestrated on the night of December 22, which led to a massive loss of lives and destruction.




    BUDGET – The Romanian Parliament is debating the draft budget for 2018. Tuesdays session looked at the addendums, after the body of the text and its articles were adopted on Monday, together with the funds allotted to the main credit release authorities: the Presidency, the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies, and the Governments General Secretariat. A final vote has been scheduled for Thursday. Romanias budget for next year is based on an economic growth rate of 5.5%, an exchange rate of 4.55 lei against the euro, an average monthly income of €565 and a budget deficit of 2.97% of the GDP. The priorities for 2018 are healthcare, education and infrastructure. The right-wing opposition has criticized the Government, saying the budget projection is risky and will most likely increase public debt.




    SURVEY – Over 85% of businesspeople in Romania are against the transfer of social security contributions from employers to employees, reads a recent survey commissioned by the Council of SMEs. 60% of respondents said they encountered serious difficulties in implementing and negotiating the move starting January 1, 2018. Ovidiu Nicolescu, the honorary president of the Council of SMEs, has warned that many net salaries will drop. The survey was conducted over December 12-18 on a sample of 328 businesspeople.




    RwB – 65 journalists were killed in 2017 worldwide, of whom 50 professionals, 7 bloggers and 8 freelancers, reads the Reporters without Borders annual report, made public on Tuesday. According to the report, 2017 was the least deadly in the last 14 years, which is mostly due to a better protection of reporters, and the fact that most journalists have already fled countries located in hot zones across the globe. Same as last year, Syria ranks first in terms of the largest number of journalists killed (12), followed by Mexico (11), Afghanistan (9), Iraq (8) and the Philippines (4).


    (translated by: Vlad Palcu, Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • The anti – Communist uprising in Romania

    The anti – Communist uprising in Romania

    It is 27 years since Romanians won their freedom in the street, giving their lives to remove the illegal totalitarian and criminal regime instated after the war. In December 1989, over 1,000 people died and at least 3,000 were wounded in Romania.



    The uprising started in Timişoara (western Romania), where a spontaneous protest broke out in response to the Communist regime’s attempt to evacuate reformed pastor Laszlo Tokes, as he had leveled criticism against the regime in the international press.



    As usual for those times, the pastor’s criticism was interpreted as instigation to ethnic division. People gathered around the pastor’s house following the Communist authorities’ action, which they saw as another attempt to limit their religious freedom. On December 17th the protest extended to the center of the city, which became the scene of the anti-Communist slogans and chants that were inconceivable at the epoch.



    Faced with an unprecedented situation, the authorities ordered the army to go to the streets that were already teeming with the omnipresent informers of the then political police, the Securitate. The army intervened brutally and tens of people were killed. In order to completely remove any trace of the violent repression, the bodies were taken from the hospital morgue and sent to Bucharest where they were cremated and their ashes thrown into a storm drain as part of “Rose” operation.



    Nevertheless, protests continued until December 20 when the army fraternized with the protesters and withdrew to their barracks, the people arrested were freed and from the balcony of the Opera House in Timişoara the protesters declared Timişoara the first city “free of Communism”. The following day, the anti-Communist uprising extended to Bucharest and culminated on December 22nd with the fleeing of the dictatorial couple. Later the two dictators were caught and killed right on Christmas day after a superficial trial. 27 years on after those events Romanians are still waiting for answers about who opened fire on the anti-communist protesters.



    Initially classified, the Revolution File was re-opened this year after judges became aware of the superficial investigation conducted in the case. Military prosecutors announced the extension of prosecution in rem, the main charge in the case being crimes against humanity. According to magistrates, the new political and military power instated after 1989 ordered the killing and deprivation of freedom of many people in order to keep power. Through misinformation and manipulation the then leaders created the illusion of a civil war, the magistrates say. The division of the Army, the dissemination of false orders and information that eventually led to fighting between the army and the militia or between units of the army, was meant, according to prosecutors, to allow the new leaders to take over power and be legitimized.


  • December 19, 2016

    December 19, 2016

    COMMEMORATION – The western Romanian city of Timişoara commemorates today the fourth day of the anti-communist revolution of December 1989, with a conference organised by the Romanian Academy. Twenty-seven years ago, protesters were killed and wounded, and on December 20, Timişoara became the first Romanian city free from communism. Sparked by the locals opposition to an abusive measure of the city authorities, the protests quickly spread across the country, culminating on December 22nd in Bucharest, when the protesters stormed the headquarters of the central committee of the Romanian communist party. This is when the dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu and his wife attempted to flee by helicopter. They were caught and executed on December 25, after a summary trial. Over 1,000 people died and nearly 3,400 were wounded in the clashes, and Romania remains the only Eastern Bloc country where the communist regime was brought down through violence and the communist leaders were executed.



    PARLIAMENT – The new MPs elected for the 2016 – 2020 term are expected to start today the procedures for taking office in Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. President Klaus Iohannis has announced that he will convene the new Parliament on Tuesday, and will hold talks with the parliamentary parties on Wednesday and Thursday. This week the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania, which together hold 54% of the seats in the new parliament, will announce their proposal for the new prime minister. After the President has appointed the PM, the latter will have 10 days to put together a cabinet and the governing programme, after which he is to request Parliaments vote of confidence.




    REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS – This year 57 journalists have been killed around the world, especially in countries affected by war, according to a report made public by Reporters without Borders, an NGO based in Paris. The largest number of deaths, 19, was reported in Syria, followed by Afghanistan, Mexico, Iraq and Yemen. Most journalists lost their lives in their own countries, and one-third of them were targeted by deliberate attacks. Apart from the 57 journalists, 9 bloggers and 8 media collaborators were assassinated. As for the journalists incarcerated or detained this year, their number has increased particularly because of the situation in Turkey, where more than 100 media workers are currently imprisoned.



    SYRIA – The UN Security Council is to vote today on a draft resolution aimed at immediately deploying observers to monitor the evacuation of civilians and rebels from the Syrian town of Aleppo. The resolution initiated by France was originally scheduled to be put to a vote on Sunday, but Russia opposed it, voicing fears with respect to the deployment of UN officials unprepared to monitor the protection of the thousands of people still trapped in the last rebel-controlled area in the east of this Syrian town. After intensive negotiations, a compromise text was drafted.



    US ELECTION – In the USA, the Electoral College is to vote today on Donald Trumps victory in the presidential race. Whereas in previous years this procedure was a mere formality, the controversial success of the Republican candidate, who lost the popular vote but was supported by presidential electors, is generating a variety of scenarios. Major changes are not expected however after todays vote, although some have requested electors to keep in mind that the businessman does not meet the moral criteria to lead the worlds foremost democracy. Adding to these are disclosures by American intelligence services that Russia contributed to Donald Trumps victory.



    HANDBALL – Norways womens team Sunday won the gold medal at the European Handball Championship in Sweden, after having defeated the Netherlands, 30-29 in the final. Norway thus won the 7th European champion title in 12 editions of this competition. In the match for the 3rd place, France beat Denmark, 25-22. Romania came out 5th in this edition of the European championship. The national team had a good performance overall, but failed to qualify into the semi-finals after losing the match against Denmark. In this competition the Romanian players defeated the Olympic champions Russia, as well as Hungary, Croatia and the Czech Republic, and lost a tightly contested match against the European and world champions, Norway.

  • December 17, 2016 UPDATE

    December 17, 2016 UPDATE

    COMMEMORATION – In the western Romanian city of Timişoara, ceremonies have begun, which commemorate 27 years since the start of the Revolution of December 1989, which brought down the communist regime. A day of mourning was observed on Saturday in the city, in memory of the around 100 heroes who died in Timisoara. Sparked by the locals opposition to an abusive measure of the city hall, the protests quickly spread across the country, culminating on December 22 with dictator Nicolae Ceausescus attempted escape. More than 1,000 people died and another 3,400 were wounded between December 16 and 25, 1989. Romania was the only Eastern Bloc country where the communist regime was overthrown in a violent manner and the communist leaders were executed.



    PARLIAMENT – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, has announced that he will convene the new Parliament on December 20, and on December 21 and 22 he will have talks with the representatives of political parties. This week the head of state has had a first round of consultations with the political parties that will be part of the new parliament further to last Sundays elections. He discussed with the representatives of the National Liberal Party, Save Romania Union, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Peoples Movement Party and the group of ethnic minorities. The Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania, who will make up the new parliamentary majority, declined the invitation, on grounds of procedural flaws, but said they would talk with the President after the new Parliament was validated.




    LEGISLATION – The bill drafted by the Social Democratic Party on the scrapping of 102 charges and fees, including the radio and television license fee, will be sent back to Parliament for review. President Klaus Iohannis made this decision on the same day that the Constitutional Court announced the bill did not come against the Constitution. The Presidents move triggered the discontent of the Social Democratic leader, Liviu Dragnea, the initiator of the bill. Dragnea vowed not to give up the elimination of the respective charges, and said the bill would once again be pushed through Parliament.



    US-RUSSIA – US President Barack Obama said his country would respond to the cyber-attacks launched by Russia during the presidential election campaign in November. The American authorities say they have evidence that hackers linked to Kremlin broke into the email accounts of members of the Democratic candidate Hillary Clintons team, to help the campaign of Republican candidate Donald Trump. Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin, President Obama told a press conference, virtually confirming the view that Russian President Putin was personally involved in the attempts to hack into the computers of the National Democratic Committee. Russia denied the accusations.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • December 17, 2016

    December 17, 2016

    COMMEMORATION – In the western Romanian city of Timişoara, ceremonies have been organised to commemorate 27 years since the start of the Revolution of December 1989, which brought down the communist regime. A day of mourning is observed on Saturday in the city, in memory of the heroes who died in Timisoara. Sparked by the locals opposition to an abusive measure of the city hall, the protests quickly spread across the country, culminating on December 22 with dictator Nicolae Ceausescus attempted escape. More than 1,000 people died and another 3,400 were wounded between December 16 and 25, 1989. Romania was the only Eastern Bloc country where the communist regime was overthrown in a violent manner and the communist leaders were executed.



    DISPUTE – The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the issue of the Romanian gold reserve had a significant historical component and that it was first and foremost something for a bilateral team of historians to deal with. According to the Russian diplomacy, historical issues, including the matter of the gold reserve, were not covered by the Russian-Romanian Treaty, and a joint team of historians was tasked with researching the issue. The Russian authorities say the interim findings of this committee are to be presented at a meeting held in Moscow next year. The Russian Foreign Ministry made these clarifications after Mugur Isarescu, Governor of the National Bank of Romania, said Russia was still to return to Romania the gold reserve sent for safekeeping in the Russian Empire 100 years ago. According to the archive of the central bank, in 1916 and 1917 Romania sent to Moscow 1,926 cases containing gold coins and bars, as well as cases of jewellery belonging to Queen Marie.



    DEFENCE – The Romanian authorities are making progress in identifying another 12 aicraft to be included in the equipment of the Romanian Air Forces, but talks with the representatives of the country that produces these devices must first be held, the Romanian Defence Minister Mihnea Motoc said on Friday at Air Base 86, Borcea. He answered a question regarding the acquisition of a new squadron of F-16 fighters. In 2013, Romania decided to purchase 12 used F-16 aircraft from Portugal, but according to experts the country needs 48 multirole planes, that is, another 4 squadrons.



    LEGISLATION – The bill drafted by the Social Democratic Party on the scrapping of 102 charges and fees, including the radio and television license fee, will be sent back to Parliament for review. President Klaus Iohannis made this decision on the same day that the Constitutional Court announced the bill did not come against the Constitution. The Presidents move triggered the discontent of the Social Democratic leader, Liviu Dragnea, the initiator of the bill. Dragnea vowed not to give up the elimination of the respective charges, and said the bill would once again be pushed through Parliament.



    US-RUSSIA – US President Barack Obama said his country would respond to the cyber-attacks launched by Russia during the presidential election campaign in November. The American authorities say they have evidence that hackers linked to Kremlin broke into the email accounts of members of the Democratic candidate Hillary Clintons team, to help the campaign of Republican candidate Donald Trump. Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin, President Obama told a press conference, virtually confirming the view that Russian President Putin was personally involved in the attempts to hack into the computers of the National Democratic Committee. Russia denied the accusations.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • The Week in Review 31.10 – 06.11

    The Week in Review 31.10 – 06.11

    The strike of the healthcare staff has been declared illegal




    The
    Bucharest Court on Thursday ruled that the strike of the healthcare staff held
    early this week was illegal. The decision can still be appealed, but it is
    binding. The magistrates thus agreed with the Health Ministry officials who
    claimed, among other things, that the trade unionists’ action did not comply
    with the legal conditions for starting a labor conflict. The healthcare staff
    went on strike on October 31, asking for higher salaries and better working
    conditions. On November 1st the protest was suspended, after the
    parliamentary committees approved a pay rise for the healthcare staff and the
    trade unionists received assurances that the amendments would be voted in the
    plenum of Parliament next week. The labour minister, Dragoş Paslaru, has warned that these pay rises could
    affect the country’s economy.





    The government criticizes the pay rises and the
    elimination of charges proposed by Parliament.




    The
    Romanian government believes that the pay rises and the elimination of more than
    100 charges, as proposed by Parliament proposals, will have a negative impact
    on next year’s state budget.


    Dacian
    Cioloş: As
    is customary for Romania’s Parliament before elections, a number of measures
    have been passed in recent months, which raise salaries for various categories
    of public sector employees, without thorough previous calculations. The total
    amount of money stands at around 9 billion lei, that is more than 1% of the
    GDP.


    The budget
    impact of the populist laws voted before the elections amounts to 2 billion
    euros, which will lead to either a deeper budget deficit or to a reduction of
    the funds to be allotted for investments. Moreover, the imbalances between
    several categories of state employees will increase. If the bills are passed in
    the form wanted by Parliament, the Government will challenge the salary law at
    the Constitutional Court. In the run up to the December 11 elections, on
    Tuesday the MPs in the joint budget – finance and labour committees amended the
    order on the salaries of state employees and introduced new categories of staff
    in the education and healthcare systems that will benefit from pay rises or
    bonuses, although salaries in these fields have already been increased in the
    past year by an average 30%. These pay rises were announced shortly after the
    MPs passed a draft law on the elimination of more than 100 non-fiscal taxes,
    including the radio and TV license fees.





    The government sets maximum levels for
    mandatory motor-vehicle liability insurance policies.




    Wednesday’s
    decision by the Romanian Government to impose certain caps, for a period of 6
    months, on the mandatory car liability insurance policies, has triggered
    conflicting reactions depending on the interests of the sides involved. The
    National Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies notified the European
    Commission on the 6-month freeze on car liability insurance prices, claiming
    that the measure infringes on the principles of free market and competition as
    stipulated in the Romanian Constitution. On the other hand, road carriers have
    hailed the measures passed by the government. Moreover,
    they call on Parliament to issue a new insurance law in these 6 months, before
    the expiry of the government’s ordinance on capping car liability insurance
    policies. Transporters also ask for the future law to ensure total transparency
    as regards the calculation of tariffs for all categories of vehicles held by
    natural persons and legal entities. The insurance companies that will sell
    insurance policies at prices exceeding the maximum value set by the government
    risk big fines. New regulations in the insurance field were adopted by the
    government after the protests organized by transporters. They have frequently
    contested the very high prices they had to pay especially for trucks and the
    fact that car liability insurances policies are growing by the year.





    Criminal prosecution to expand in case related
    to the 1989 anti-communist revolution.




    Almost 27 years after the fall
    of the Ceausescu regime, army prosecutors have expanded in rem the
    criminal proceedings in the so-called Revolution case to investigate crimes
    against humanity committed after the 22nd of December 1989.
    Prosecutor Marian Lazăr
    explains the reasons of this decision.


    Marian Lazar: It transpires from documents that are part of the case that,
    in order to hold on to power, through their actions and measures, the new
    political and military leadership instated after the 22nd of December
    1989 caused the death, gunshot injury, physical and psychological damage and
    unlawful deprivation of freedom of a large number of persons, actions that fall
    into the scope of crimes against humanity.


    The actions in question point
    to the existence of a plan aiming to create a state of confusion among the
    armed forces and thus enable the new leaders to take over power and acquire
    legitimacy. According to a document from the Military Prosecutor’s Office with
    the High Court of Cassation and Justice, more than 1,200 people were killed in
    the events of December 1989, of whom 800 died after 22nd of
    December, when the regime collapsed. More than 5,000 people were wounded and
    several thousand unlawfully deprived of freedom and subjected to bad treatment.
    The reopening of the Revolution case, which earned Romania a series of
    convictions at the European Court of Human Rights, comes a few months after
    interim prosecutor general Bogdan Licu called for the reopening of the
    inquiries. According to Licu, the ruling to close the case in October 2015 was
    ungrounded and illegal, and the legal classification of the deeds was wrong.