29 July – 3 August UPDATE
A look at the headline-grabbing events this past week
Mihai Pelin, 03.08.2019, 15:00
The Caracal case discussed by Romania’s Supreme Defense Council
In Bucharest, an analysis made during the latest meeting of Romanias Supreme Defense Council has shown that institutions responsible for ensuring citizens security have failed to do their duty in the case involving the disappearing of two teenagers, aged 15 and 18 respectively, in Caracal, southern Romania. President Klaus Iohannis has called on the Government to draw up, by the end of August, measures, norms and procedures to ensure the rapid reaction and correlation of all the institutions involved, in order to prevent such tragedies from happening again.
One of the girls, kidnapped on July 24th, managed to call the emergency number 112, operated by the Special Telecommunication Service (STS), but the service was unable to accurately locate the girl. Also, the operator and then the police officer who took over the call did not know how to manage the situation in a professional manner. It took the police 19 hours to enter the house of the suspect, Gheorghe Dinca, who, the girl said, had kidnapped and raped her. The Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism DIICOT on Saturday announced that following tests made on the burned bones collected from Gheorghe Dinca’s house, they identified DNA from one single person, the 15-year old girl. In a Facebook post, the victim’s uncle, who is a public person, said he would ask for international counter expertise in relation to the human remains found in the suspect’s house.
The Interior Minister Nicolae Moga and the head of the STS Ionel Vasilca have resigned, and the head of the Romanian Police Ioan Buda has been sacked, alongside other local police chiefs and the prefect of Olt County. In the meantime, the prosecutor that initially managed the case has been suspended, and the case, given its complexity, has been taken over by the central structure of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism.
The interim Interior Minister Mihai Fifor has stated that one of the measures envisaged is transferring the management of the national emergency service 112 to the Interior Ministry, in order to avoid wasting time transferring the calls to the police, ambulance or the fire department.
The Constitutional Court of Romania has decided that the changes brought to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure are unconstitutional
The changes operated by Parliament on the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure are unconstitutional, the judges of the Constitutional Court unanimously decided on Monday. The reason put forth by the Court was that Parliament had not complied with its obligation to bring these changes in line with previous Constitutional Court rulings. The bills will be sent to Parliament in order to harmonize them with such rulings.
It was President Klaus Iohannis and the Save Romania Union and National Liberal Party in the opposition that challenged these changes at the Constitutional Court. They argued that through the bills passed by the parliamentary majority, made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, more than 300 damaging changes were operated on the Romanian criminal legislation. The Constitutional Court had postponed a ruling in this respect 7 times, before reaching Mondays decision.
The changes brought to the Criminal Code include, among other things, a considerable reduction of prescription periods for offences posing high social threats, concurrently with a reduction of special prescription periods to a half. Also halved were the penalties for embezzlement and abuse of office, provided the offenders cover the damages before a final ruling is passed. Criminal negligence was also decriminalised under the proposed legislation.
As for the Code of Criminal Procedure, changes concerned, among other things, the intelligence obtained under national security warrants, which was to no longer be used by courts of general jurisdiction even in corruption, rape or murder cases.
Some 350,000 electro-dance music fans are expected to Cluj-Napoca, in central Romania, at the biggest electronic music festival in Romania – UNTOLD
UNTOLD, the biggest electronic music festival in Romania kicked off in Cluj-Napoca on Thursday. The organizers have promised unforgettable shows, with a 350,000 strong audience, people coming from some 100 countries to see 200 artists performing on 10 stages. One of the largest stages in Europe was placed inside the Cluj Arena stadium. The events budget stands at 14 million Euros. UNTOLD, which has reached its 5th edition, is famous for the quality of the music played by some of the best DJs in the world, and also its spectacular lights shows. Robbie Williams and Armin van Buuren are two of the most expected artists.
The Black Sea Resort of Mamaia is playing host to the Gaudeamus Book Fair
The Black Sea Resort of Mamaia is hosting the 11th Gaudeamus Black Sea Book Fair, organized by Radio Romania. For five days, visitors have the opportunity to buy discount books, to attend special events, book launches and presentations, as well as various performances, recitals and dance shows. The fair is open every day from 3 p.m. until 11 p.m. and entrance is free of charge.
On Tuesday, Romanias president Klaus Iohannis awarded the tennis player Simona Halep the Order of the Star of Romania
On Tuesday, Romanias president Klaus Iohannis awarded the tennis player Simona Halep the Order of the Star of Romania, the Knight Rank, as a token of appreciation and recognition of her winning the Wimbledon Trophy, of the exceptional results obtained throughout her career, of her becoming one of the best players in the world, her talent, dedication and professionalism, which have helped promote Romanian sports at international level and among young people. Simona Halep, aged 27, currently no. 4 in the WTA rankings, was number one between 2017 and 2019, for 64 weeks. Besides this years Wimbledon Trophy, she won another Grand Slam trophy last year, namely the Roland Garros. (translated by M. Ignatescu)/ (update by L. Simion)
