Order for people to leave Piata Victoriei, issued in violation of legal provisions, prosecutors say

The order for the protesters of the August 10 rally in Bucharest's Piata Victoriei to leave the area, issued by Laurentiu Cazan, the general director of the General Gendarmerie Directorate was given in violation of the legal provisions, says the Prosecutor's Office with the Supreme Court (PICCJ)

In the case of the violent events of August 10 and 11 at the Piata Victoriei rally, the military prosecutors with the PICCJ Prosecutor's Office ordered on the continuation of the criminal prosecution against:

* Major Laurentiu Valentin Cazan, currently deputy general manager of the General Gendarmerie Directorate of Bucharest, for abuse of office, improper participation in continuous misconduct, improper participation in misrepresentation, improper participation in the use of misrepresentation;

* Chief Commissioner Mihai Dan Chirica, a senior official with the Interior Ministry in charge with relations with the Prefecture for complicity to abuse of office and complicity to improper participation in repeated abusive conduct;

* Colonel Gheorghe Sebastian Cucos, currently the first deputy of the general inspector of the Romanian Gendarmerie, for complicity to abuse of office and complicity to improper participation in repeated abusive behaviour;

* Colonel Ionut-Catalin Sindile, currently a general inspector of the Romanian Gendarmerie by proxy, for complicity to abuse of office and complicity to improper participation in repeated abusive behaviour.

According to the ordinance of the prosecutors, Cazan, on August 10, as commander of the action to preserve public peace during the demonstration in Piata Victoriei, created the appearance of a legal action to restore public peace and ordered the forceful intervention for the participants to the protest to leave the area, thus causing a violation of the legitimate rights of the protesters and the freedom of expression as well as the freedom of assembly provided by the Romanian Constitution, Law 60/1991 on public assemblies and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

"The order for the protesters to leave the area was given in violation of Article 19 of Law 60/1991 on public assemblies and of Articles 33, 34, 36 and 37 of Law 550/2004 on the organisation and operation of the Romanian Gendarmerie," according to the investigators.

PICCJ also shows that Cazan ordered the use of means to disperse the protesters, with the consequence being the subordinate staff committing acts of violence unjustified by the operational situation and the real needs of containing the unruly protesters that was also directed against children, otherwise than gradually and without ceasing after the purpose of the mission was achieved, causing injuries to a large number of the protesters.

"On the night of August 10/11, the suspect made the scriptural recorder of the Operational Log of the General Gendarmerie Directorate of Bucharest to record unrealistically 23:11 o'clock as the time at which the prefect of Bucharest approved the brutal intervention for the restoration of public peace in Piata Victoriei and subsequently determined the use of the Operational Log as proof of the legal way in which the intervention would be carried out forcefully."

Regarding Mihai Dan Chirica, the prosecutors note that on the night of August 10/11, he used the authority granted by his office in order to help Laurentiu Cazan create the appearance of the lawfulness of the evacuation action regarding the Piata Victoriei protesters, exercising pressure on the prefect of Bucharest to formally approve the force intervention order both before and after the time it was issued by the riot police commander, thus causing a violation of the legitimate rights of the majority of protesters related to the freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.

"The apparent legality allowed the riot control officers of the Romanian Gendarmerie to use their means to get the protesters out of Piata Victoriei, with the consequence being the subordinate staff committing acts of violence unjustified by the operational situation and the real needs of containing the unruly protesters that was also directed against children, otherwise than gradually and without ceasing after the purpose of the mission was achieved, causing injuries to a large number of the protesters," the prosecutors argued in a press statement released on Friday.

Regarding Gheorghe Sebastian Cucos and Ionut Catalin Sindile, the investigators say that on the night of August 10/11, "in the absence of an order or fragmentary provisions recording the taking over of command from Major Laurentiu Cazan through the orders directly given to the riot control officers, unlawfully participated in the conduct of the operations and helped the latter implement the unlawful interference order to have the protesters leave Piata Victoriei, thereby causing a violation of the legitimate rights of most protesters to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, with the consequence being the subordinate staff committing acts of violence unjustified by the operational situation and the real needs of containing the unruly protesters that was also directed against children, otherwise than gradually and without ceasing after the purpose of the mission was achieved, causing injuries to a large number of the protesters."

The military prosecutors opened a criminal case file on how the gendarmes intervened during the August 10 protest. Over 770 criminal complaints have been filed with the Military Prosecutor's Office on behalf of some people who suffered as a result of the gendarmes' intervention.AGERPRES(RO - author: Mihai Stoica, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Maria Voican)