The latest investigation by journalists from Recorder uncovered that the influential chief of the Protection and Guard Service (SPP), Lucian Pahonțu, was an officer in the Securitate troops before 1989, prompting additional checks by the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives (CNSAS).

The journalistic investigation alleges that Pahonțu, who currently leads a lesser-known military service charged with the protection of Romanian dignitaries, was with his platoon in the repression deployment against protesters who gathered on December 21, 1989, to take down dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu. 

According to several documents uncovered by Recorder, Lucian Pahonțu was present that night in the area of the Intercontinental barricade, where armed troops killed 48 people and arrested hundreds of protesters.

Reacting to the revelations, CNSAS vice president Mădălin Hodor said that the SPP chief did not submit, as required by law, a declaration on his own responsibility stating whether or not he was a collaborator or operative of the Securitate. 

“Following this new request from the press, CNSAS carried out these checks, and just the other day we received the responses. This time, the response from the Interior Ministry, including from the Gendarmerie, is much, much more extensive than what they had told us so far,” Hodor explained.

However, there is no certainty that the files are complete even now. Moreover, Pahonțu’s involvement in repressions still has to be proven, he said. 

“The mere fact that you worked for the Securitate or were an officer in the Securitate Troops does not, according to the law, automatically give you the status of a ‘Securitate operative.’ To have this status, you must also have violated fundamental freedoms, participated in political police actions, monitored citizens, manipulated files, all these things in writing, and these are evidence of your activity carried out against Romanian citizens during the communist period. If these documents cannot be found, the status of operative cannot be proven,” explained Mădălin Hodor, cited by Euronews Romania.

Who is Lucian Pahonțu?

SPP head since 2005, Pahonțu has amassed a disproportionate amount of influence in national politics. In 2024, he turned 60 and was placed in reserve as a four-star general, but kept his position as head of the SPP. He was not changed by Nicusor Dan once he took office, and in total, Lucian Pahonțu served three presidents and 15 governments, with what seems to be little control over his activity. Over the years, Pahonțu was also accused of interfering in party politics. 

“The most influential and longest-serving head of a secret service in Romania has remained at the top of the Romanian state for more than 20 years, managing to polish his CV and hide the most sensitive part of his military career,” the Recorder investigation said.

By reconstructing the SPP chief's biography, Recorder found that he began his military career as the nephew of a prominent communist general and served as an officer in the Securitate Troops from 1987 to 1990.

Aside from the December 1989 actions, the current head of the SPP was allegedly also involved in the events of June 13, 1990, when hundreds of people were beaten and arrested by law enforcement forces in University Square in Bucharest.

In response, Recorder journalists said that Lucian Pahonțu avoided answering the questions sent to him regarding the information concerning his biography and limited himself to saying that “his entire activity was carried out in accordance with legal norms and with the solid principles governing the activity of military personnel, such as loyalty and devotion to the country, honor, dignity and integrity.”

Defended by president Nicușor Dan

During statements given on Thursday, August 27, president Nicușor Dan was asked about the situation of SPP chief Lucian Pahonțu. He argued that the issue was blown out of proportion. The head of state said that, following the information that appeared in the press, he read the article on which the revelations about Lucian Pahonțu were based, but did not identify elements supporting the headline of the material.

“I don't know what the scandal is. I saw a press article with a headline that is not justified by the content,” Dan said, and indicated that Lucian Pahonțu would remain in office. 

The president also said that “the repression of the demonstrations during the Revolution and the Mineriad is a stain on Romania’s history” and that “any person who carried out repression has no place in a position in the Romanian state.” However, Nicușor Dan mentioned, “Mr. Pahonțu is not in this situation.”

The head of state also emphasized that the SPP is not a secret service. “SPP is not a secret service. It is a guard service. Mr. Pahonțu, according to Romanian law, when he was appointed at the president’s proposal, at the CSAT’s proposal 21 years ago, CSAT conducted a check, including at CNSAS, to see whether or not he had engaged in political police,” Nicușor Dan said.

Mădălin Hodor, historian and vice-president of the College of the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives (CNSAS), contradicted Dan’s latter statement. According to Mădălin Hodor, there is no legal provision allowing the CSAT to request that CNSAS vet a person appointed to head a secret service. In Lucian Pahonțu’s case, the ex officio procedure would have been delayed by the lack of a declaration on his own responsibility and by blockages in the process of declassification, Hodor added on Facebook.

In response to the president’s statements, Recorder noted in a Facebook post that “it has become sufficiently clear that general Pahonțu does not even need to defend himself. Because he has a president at his disposal.”

Reactions to the Pahonțu case

Numerous reactions from politicians and public figures emerged after the Recorder investigation into the past of Lucian Pahonțu and after president Nicușor Dan’s statements on the subject. 

Interim prime minister and Liberal (PNL) leader Ilie Bolojan said, In an interview with Cotidianul, that the events of 1989 must be clarified and that “everyone is responsible for their own actions.” He noted that evaluating the SPP falls under the authority of the Presidential Administration and argued that term limits should be introduced to prevent concerns about undue influence, adding that he would support such a measure, News.ro reported.

The leader of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party, George Simion, said Pahonțu contributed to Nicușor Dan’s victory in the 2025 presidential elections. He also claimed that the popular support for Dan, who bested him in the second round of the elections, was constructed through manipulation.

Meanwhile, Dominic Fritz, leader of the reformist center-right Union Save Romania (USR) Party, said that the allegations regarding Lucian Pahonțu were very serious. He emphasized that Pahonțu must clarify the allegations regarding his involvement in the events of December 1989 and in the repression of the protests during the Mineriad. 

“It is not just about one man, but about an entire system. We have to find out which institutions covered up the truth. If it is confirmed, who knew what, when, and why there was no declaration of non-collaboration, although it was required by law. We have to find all the answers,” Dominic Fritz said, cited by Digi24.

Former president Traian Băsescu, who worked with Pahontu, said he was surprised that the SPP head was involved in the 1989 events. He argued that the Recorder investigation does not actually accuse him of having participated in the repression against the population. However, it is probably time for him to leave the leadership of the SPP, Băsescu also said, according to TVRInfo.

Former prime minister Ludovic Orban said that the former presidents of Romania were no doubt informed about Pahonțu’s past, and argued that the latter must be dismissed. 

Aside from Orban, 25 NGOs publicly called on president Dan to immediately remove Lucian Pahonțu from his position as head of the SPP. A protest was also announced on Friday, August 28.

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos|Octav Ganea)