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MARIANA POPA v. ROMANIA and 16 other applications

Doc ref: 42163/18, 2234/19, 7613/19, 9759/19, 9770/19, 9778/19, 9784/19, 9791/19, 9904/19, 9915/19, 9923/19, ... • ECHR ID: 001-197181

Document date: October 2, 2019

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MARIANA POPA v. ROMANIA and 16 other applications

Doc ref: 42163/18, 2234/19, 7613/19, 9759/19, 9770/19, 9778/19, 9784/19, 9791/19, 9904/19, 9915/19, 9923/19, ... • ECHR ID: 001-197181

Document date: October 2, 2019

Cited paragraphs only

Communicated on 2 October 2019

FOURTH SECTION

Application no. 42163/18 Mariana POPA against Romania and 1 6 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 milit ia 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

PeriÈ™

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 STÄ‚NCULESCU

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

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