Romanian Ex-Journalist Indicted for Disinformation Over 1989 Revolt

Romanian military prosecutors investigating for the fourth time the bloodshed that occurred during the 1989 uprising that ousted communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu on Wednesday indicted a former television news anchor for crimes against humanity.

Investigators said Teodor Brates helped spread false information that led to deaths and violence during the December 1989 uprising that followed Ceausescu's ousting.

Brates, who was deputy editor-in-chief of the news department of the Romanian Public Broadcaster TVR in December 1989, was summoned by prosecutors on Wednesday to officially receive the notification of his indictment.

Charges say he coordinated the TVR broadcasts on December 22-24 1989, when anti-communist protesters took over the studios of the broadcaster.

Brates went live on television to announce that "terrorists" were shooting at people and that "water has been poisoned."

The indictment says Brates was "the main factor disseminating fake news, meant to create diversions, thus highly contributing to forming the terrorist psychosis which affected Romania's entire population (both military and civilians)."

Brates came to the prosecutor's office but refused to answer any questions from journalists.

Military prosecutors indicted Romania's former president Ion Iliescu on Tuesday for crimes against humanity during the violent uprising in December 1989.

In the indictment they claim that, as initiator and coordinator of the commanding unit of the uprising, which comprised both political and military members, Iliescu approved military moves that were seen as diversions designed to create panic among the people and which allegedly led to numerous deaths.

The former president also refused to comment on the...