Administrative fines for 40 anti-shale gas protesters in Romania

The 40 protestors prosecuted after taking part in the demonstrations against Chevron’s shale gas exploration in Silistea – Pungesti, northeastern Romanian, almost a year ago, received administrative fines between RON 100 (EUR 22) and RON 300 (EUR 67). All the crimes of which they were accused were suspended. The 40 protesters were investigated for destroying the fence surrounding Chevron’s exploration site in Pungesti. In the resolution, the prosecutors said that the social danger of the offenses committed by the protestors on December 7, 2013, was a minor one, reports local Mediafax. Around 400 people protested last December against Chevron’s activity in Pungesti. The protestors managed to destroy the fence Chevron had built around the 20,000 sqm land plot at the village outskirts. The group of protestors was a mix of locals and ecology activists from Iasi, Bucharest, Brasov and Sibiu. The protests were triggered by people’s concerns that exploration would be harmful to the environment. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: TVR1)