Ruling coalition, president quarrel over justice changes after teenage girls killed by kidnapper in Romania

The murder of two teenage girls in the town of Caracal, in Olt county, has not only sparked public outrage but also triggered yet another quarrel between the ruling coalition and the president over the justice changes promoted by the governing power and adopted by the Parliament over the last two years. Moreover, the prime minister talked about a possible referendum aimed at introducing harsher punishments for murder or rape.

The news broke out last Friday that the Police found possible human remains at the house of a man in Caracal, and that the remains could belong to a 15-year-old girl who went missing on Wednesday. The media began linking this case to another similar one that occurred in April when an 18-year-old girl disappeared under the same circumstances. The suspect (picture below) was arrested and admitted to killing the two girls.

The case sparked public outrage in Romania as information started to emerge about the authorities’ chaotic response in this case. The 15-year-old girl who went missing on Wednesday managed to call the emergency number 112 at about 11:00 on Thursday morning and tell the authorities that she was being held captive in a house. However, the Police and prosecutors apparently managed to locate the kidnapper’s house after many hours, and they organized the search only on Friday morning, at about 06:00. Part of the accusations are directed towards the Special Telecommunications Service (STS), which failed to provide the girl’s exact location, but also towards the late actions of the Police and prosecutors.

Thousands took to the streets in Bucharest and other big cities across Romania, and even in Caracal, over the weekend, outraged by the way the authorities reacted in this case. People believe the 15-year-old girl could have been saved if the authorities would have managed to locate the call faster.

Meanwhile, the entire case fueled another quarrel between the top political players in Romania. Prime minister Viorica Dancila, who is also the president of the ruling party PSD, said on Saturday that she considers calling a public referendum aimed at introducing harsher punishments for murder, rape, and pedophilia. She also said that an inter-institutional working group is working to find “urgent measures aimed at improving the response time in critical situations,” and that the Parliament would work to “correct legislative shortcomings” identified by this inter-institutional group.

On the other hand, while president Klaus Iohannis agreed that some changes are needed to “prevent other similar tragedies from happening,” he also said that the Romanian Government “should consider whether it is the moral author of this tragedy.”