Pro Romania's Ponta asks replacement of criminally prosecuted gendarmes: Minister's stand, an abuse

Pro Romania demands the replacement of the Gendarmerie chiefs against whom the prosecution was started in the case of the 10 August protest, and this structure should be removed from the political battle, Victor Ponta, leader of the party, said on Monday, stressing that the position of the Minister of the Interior of keeping them in service is an abuse.

"I saw the decision made by prosecutors to start criminal prosecution against Gendarmerie chiefs, and I saw the stand of the minister in charge of them. It is an offense and obviously an abuse, but it is an offense for all Gendarmerie people who work correctly, who fulfill their duty correctly, who fulfill their legal duties and who will be led in the next period by some people in Teleorman or close to Teleorman and who remain in office only so they don't speak to the prosecutors, so they don't tell the truth about 10 August," Victor Ponta told a press conference.

He said that the persons against whom the prosecution was started must remain at the disposal of the Minister of the Interior.

"On behalf of Pro Romania, we ask for something that we did when we were at rule, we do not ask for anything else, namely that the persons against whom the prosecution has begun must remain at the disposal of the minister, as required by the law, and other heads should be appointed, preferably not all from Teleorman, so as not to have discussions, and the Romanian Gendarmerie should be removed from the political battles of the Teleorman group with the protesters," added Ponta.

Last Friday, the Gendarmerie heads and a state secretary from the Ministry of Interior were charged in the case of police force intervention in the protest of 10 August, being informed by the Prosecutors of the General Prosecutor's Office that they are suspects. AGERPRES (RO - author: Alina Novaceanu, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - author: Adina Panaitescu, editor: Rodica State)