Romanian court dismisses case on 1990 miners’ riot for invalid evidence

Romania's High Court (ICCJ) dismissed the case filed by the military prosecutors regarding the violent actions of miners supported by law enforcement officers against the anticommunist opposition on June 13-15, 1990.

The judges ruled that the evidence included in this file was invalid, local News.ro reported. The prosecutors announced that they would appeal the court’s decision, which is not final.

The prosecutors sent the case to court in June 2017 and indicted former president Ion Iliescu, former prime minister Petre Roman, former head of the intelligence services Virgil Magureanu and former head of the Military Prosecution Office Mugurel Cristian Florescu for alleged crimes against humanity.

Victims of the violence expressed discontent particularly with the fact that the court returned the file after as much as nearly two years. The decision was probably fair since the file fails to include roughly some 80% of the evidence, but the judges could have returned the file quicker, Doru Maries, head of an organization of anticommunist protesters commented.

In brief, the case is related to how law enforcement bodies with the support of miners brought to Bucharest on June 14 put an end to an anti-communist demonstration in the city center. Miners broke into the headquarters of the opposition political parties and assaulted those suspect of siding with the opposition. Four people lost their lives and over a thousand were injured during the events. The prosecutors established that the violence was premeditated.

(Photo source: Facebook / Ministerul Public)