Communicated on 2 October 2019
FOURTH SECTION
Application no. 42163/18
Mariana POPA against Romania
and 16 other applications
(see list appended)
STATEMENT OF FACTS
1. The applicants are Romanian nationals. Their personal details and the dates of introduction of their respective applications are set out in the appended table.
2. The facts of the cases, as submitted by the applicants, are similar to those presented in Association “21 December 1989” and Others v. Romania (nos. 33810/07 and 18817/08, §§ 12-41, 24 May 2011) and Sidea and Others v. Romania ([Committee], no. 889/15 and 38 others, §§ 4-11, 5 June 2018). In respect of the applicants, the facts can be summarised as follows.
3. Between 23 and 25 December 1989, some of the applicants were injured by gunshots or their close relatives were shot dead in Bucharest and Reșița during the events that led to the overthrow of the communist regime. Some of the applicants stated that they had been either beaten by the militia forces and placed in detention or injured by being hit with a hard object during the events.
4. The main criminal investigation opened in 1990 concerning the use of force, both prior to and following the overthrow of communism, was the subject matter of file no. 11/P/2014 recorded with the domestic military prosecutor’s office.
5. On 14 October 2015 the prosecutor’s office closed the investigation, finding that the complaints were partly statute-barred, partly subject to an amnesty and partly ill-founded. It also found that some of the facts which had been investigated could not be classified as criminal offences, and some of the charges were res judicatae.
6. In June 2016 the High Court of Cassation and Justice upheld a decision by the Prosecutor General to quash the prosecutor’s decision of 14 October 2015 and reopen the case.
7. On 5 April 2019 the prosecutor’s office sent to trial several individuals (namely the former Romanian President, former Romanian Prime-Minister and former commander of the Romanian Air Force at the material time) for crimes against humanity, and closed the investigation with regard to other individuals for different reasons preventing the continuity of criminal proceedings (i.e. some of the charges were res judicatae, some of the suspects died or some of the facts which had been investigated could not be classified as criminal offences).
COMPLAINTS
8. Relying on Articles 2 and/or 3 of the Convention, the applicants complain of the lack of an effective criminal investigation by the authorities, capable of leading to the punishment of those responsible for their injuries or the death of their close relatives during the events of December 1989 in Bucharest and Reșița.
9. Relying on Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, in applications nos. 42163/18, 2234/19, 7613/19 and 22230/19 the applicants complain about the length of the criminal proceedings opened after the events of December 1989 in Bucharest and Reșița.
10. Relying on Article 13 of the Convention, in application no. 2234/19 the applicants complain about the lack of an effective domestic remedy to provide an investigation within a reasonable time.
COMMON QUESTIONS
1. Having regard to the procedural protection of the right to life (see Association “21 December 1989” and Others v. Romania, nos. 33810/07 and 18817/08, §§ 133-35, 24 May 2011) and to the procedural protection from inhuman or degrading treatment (see Labita v. Italy [GC], no. 26772/95, § 131, ECHR 2000-IV), was the investigation in the present cases compatible with the procedural requirements of Articles 2 and/or 3 of the Convention?
CASE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
1. As regards applications nos. 42163/18, 2234/19, 7613/19 and 22230/19, was the length of the criminal proceedings in breach of the “reasonable time” requirement of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention?
2. Did the applicants in application no. 2234/19 have at their disposal an effective domestic remedy for the determination of their complaints under Articles 2 and 6 of the Convention, as required by Article 13 of the Convention?
APPENDIX
No.
Application
no.
Lodged on
Applicant name
date of birth
place of residence
Represented by
Particular circumstances of the application
42163/18*
27/08/2018
Mariana POPA
06/09/1979
Reșita
David-Daniel DEACONESCU
Daughter of a victim killed by gunshot on 25 December 1989 in Reșita
2234/19
12/12/2018
Ștefania-Alina BODO
01/01/1976
Bucharest
Beatrice-Constantin BODO
21/02/1977
Bucharest
Eleonora ARJOCA
Sister and brother of a victim killed by gunshot on 23 December 1989 in Bucharest
7613/19*
23/01/2019
Patricia POPTELECAN
04/05/1987
Timișoara
David-Daniel DEACONESCU
Daughter of a victim killed by gunshot on the night of 24/25 December 1989 in Reșita
9759/19
08/02/2019
Elena BUZATU
11/08/1960
Bucharest
Eleonora ARJOCA
Beaten by the militia forces and placed in detention in Jilava, Bucharest, on the night of 21/22 December 1989
9770/19
08/02/2019
Maria CANTEMIR
27/11/1950
Bucharest
Eleonora ARJOCA
Beaten by the militia forces and placed in detention in Jilava, Bucharest, on the night of 21/22 December 1989
9778/19
08/02/2019
Vasile IONIȘOR
22/09/1958
Bucharest
Eleonora ARJOCA
Beaten by the militia forces and placed in detention in Police Department no. 19 and then in Jilava, Bucharest, on the night of 21/22 December 1989
9784/19
08/02/2019
Carmen ION
10/03/1970
Bucharest
Eleonora ARJOCA
Injured by gunshot on 22 December 1989 in Bucharest
9791/19
08/02/2019
Marin IANCU
09/07/1938
Bucharest
Eleonora ARJOCA
Father of a victim killed by gunshot on 21 December 1989 in Bucharest
9904/19
08/02/2019
Vasile HALAS
16/03/1949
Bucharest
Eleonora ARJOCA
Beaten by the militia forces and placed in detention in Police Department no. 17 and then in Jilava, Bucharest, on the night of 21/22 December 1989
9915/19
08/02/2019
Tiberiu CANTEMIR
08/04/1964
Bucharest
Eleonora ARJOCA
Beaten by the militia forces and placed in detention in Jilava, Bucharest, on the night of 21/22 December 1989
9923/19
08/02/2019
Nicolae MANU
14/08/1962
Bucharest
Eleonora ARJOCA
Injured by gunshot on 23 December 1989 in Bucharest
9928/19
08/02/2019
Paula TRIFANOV
26/12/1972
Bucharest
Eleonora ARJOCA
Beaten by the militia forces and placed in detention in Central Police Department and then in Jilava, Bucharest, on the night of 21/22 December 1989
9929/19
08/02/2019
Camelia TEMNEANU
26/08/1967
Periș
Eleonora ARJOCA
Beaten by the militia forces and placed in detention in Central Police Department and then in Jilava, Bucharest, on the night of 21/22 December 1989
9941/19
08/02/2019
Gheorghe STĂNCULESCU
05/02/1965
Bucharest
Eleonora ARJOCA
Beaten by the militia forces and placed in detention in Jilava, Bucharest, on the night of 21/22 December 1989
9946/19
08/02/2019
Marian RISTEA
18/04/1969
Bucharest
Eleonora ARJOCA
Injured by gunshot on the night of 21/22 December 1989 in Bucharest
9949/19
08/02/2019
Petre MORARU
13/07/1942
Bucharest
Eleonora ARJOCA
Injured by being hit with a hard object on the night of 21/22 December 1989 in Bucharest
22230/19*
09/04/2019
Constantin-Lucian POPA
17/05/1981
Reșita
David-Daniel DEACONESCU
Son of a victim killed by gunshot on 25 December 1989 in Reșita
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy