Romania To Investigate Deaths in 1989 Revolt

When Gabriela Birbora lost her husband on December 24, 1989, it was more or less the end of an era for her.

Since then, this widow who lives in Resita, in western Romania, has dedicated her time and energy to finding out who was responsible for the death of her husband during the protests in 1989 that brought down the communist regime.

In 1990, the Military Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal investigation into these events, but for years the case dragged on without any result.

As a result, Birbora decided to address the European Court for Human Rights, ECHR.

"I wish I would not have had to face this situation. I wish the criminals [who killed her husband] had been found and punished since 1990. I just want them identified, and to tell me what and who urged them to commit murder," Birbora told Balkan Insight.

Last year, the ECHR ruled against Romania in the Birbora case, ordering it to pay her compensation for the length of the criminal proceedings.

Last October, however, Romanian prosecutors closed all files related to the 1989 events saying they had no evidence to prosecute anyone, blaming what happened at the time on soldiers shooting each other due to "fatigue and stress."

On Wednesday, however, the interim General Prosecutor, Bogdan Licu, sought to reopen the 26-year old case.

"During the investigation, there was no concern for determining key aspects of the events in December 1989," Licu said.

"Nothing was done to establish who decided to open fire. In most cases, there were no autopsies and no justification was provided for their not being carried out.

"The bullets used against the victims were not recovered, again with no justification... Obviously, the shooters have...