Prosecutors close August 10 protest case against former Romanian Gendarmerie heads

The prosecutors of the Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) have closed the case against the former Gendarmerie heads that had been indicted in relation to the violent incidents at the August 10, 2018 street protest in Bucharest.

Colonel Gheorghe Sebastian Cucoş, a former first deputy of the Romanian Gendarmerie, major Laurenţiu Cazan, a former general director of the General Division of the Bucharest Gendarmerie, colonel Cătălin Sindile, a former head of the Romanian Gendarmerie, and head police commander Mihai Dan Chirică, a former state secretary with the Internal Affairs Ministry, are no longer indicted.

They were previously investigated for abuse of their position, participating in abusive behavior, participating in intellectual forgery and use of forgery, and complicity to abuse of authority and abusive behavior.

However, other specific cases where gendarmes intervened violently against the protesters will be referred to the military prosecutors. The prosecutors said these "abused the prerogatives of their public function, exerting unjustified violence against some protesters."

At the same time, the DIICOT prosecutors found no evidence to suggest a coup was planned. An investigation into this was started following a complaint of the Gendarmerie, which claimed the protesters were looking to forcefully enter the government's HQ.

"The violent actions related to the public events that took place on August 10, 2018 […] even if the stated purpose was to determine them to give up on their public positions, it did not and could not work as a means to impact national security," DIICOT said in a press release.

The protest organized in Bucharest's Victoriei Square on August 10, 2018, ended violently after a brutal intervention of the riot police and the gendarmes. They used tear gas and water cannons to clear the square, with peaceful protesters, journalists, and even tourists injured during their intervention.

The protest was supposed to bring Romanians from abroad and those in the country together to state their dissatisfaction with the former ruling coalition of the Social Democrat Party (PSD) and ALDE, and the government of Viorica Dăncilă.

(Photo: Alberto Grosescu/ Inquam Photos)