Examination of April 7 cases is simulated, lawyer

The examination of the cases concerning the April 7, 2009 events is simulated and this is done with the help of politicians, prosecutors, police officers and judges, considers lawyer Teo Carnat, who is a human rights expert. He told Info-Prim Neo that this simulation prevents the discovery of the truth and justice will probably never be done in these cases. Teo Carnat represents the victims in court in two cases centering on the April 7, 2009 events. According to him, both the plaintiffs and the witnesses lost confidence in the courts. No serious punishment has been given so far in the maltreatment cases. During the investigations, some of the witnesses who are employees or ex-employees of the Ministry of the Interior say one thing, but when they go to court they change their testimonies because the trials involve their former bosses. Also, the Ministry of the Interior protects the defendants, as for example former deputy commissioner Iacob Gumenita. When his lawyer asked closing the case as some of the proofs were collected with violations of the Penal Code, the Ministry’s representatives supported the request. “The people will never trust the Ministry of the Interior if it continues to defend its former employees,” said Teo Carnat. As to judges, the lawyer said that in most of the cases the judges took into account the minor violations of the Penal Code committed by prosecutors and acquitted the defendants, including Generals Gheorghe Papuc, ex-Minister of the Interior, and Vladimir Botnari, ex-commissioner general. Some of the judges want to show that the April 7 events were a mistake of the protesters, not of the authorities because the judges also committed irregularities when they tried people in police stations. The situation at the Prosecutor’s Office is much the same. “On that day, many prosecutors supervised the police commissariats and said there were no cases of torture. But the situation was different. Justice in these cases will not be done soon. The same persons remained in the system and they feel guilty about the offenses committed on April 7,” said Teo Carnat. He considers the problem can be solved only by replacing the politicians who were unable to deal with the April 7, events or by replacing all the judges and prosecutors and entrusting the new ones with the task of examining the April 7 cases. On April 7, 2009, thousands of young people staged protests against the results of the April 5 elections in the Great National Assembly Square. The peaceful protests degenerated into violence and the Parliament and Presidential Buildings were destroyed. Several hundred young persons were arrested and tortured in police commissariats. The authorities have not yet officially announced whether those events had been planned or not and who is to blame for the damage caused.