Legal action has been taken against three journalists from the daily newspaper “Ziua”. Eugen Vasiliu of the Public Prosecutor’s office opened an inquiry into the case on 8 June 1995. The newspaper’s director, Sorin Rosca Stanescu, editor-in-chief Adrian Patrusca, and journalist Tana Ardeleanu (f) have been charged with “libel against authority.” They could face sentences […]
Legal action has been taken against three journalists from the
daily newspaper “Ziua”. Eugen Vasiliu of the Public Prosecutor’s
office opened an inquiry into the case on 8 June 1995. The
newspaper’s director, Sorin Rosca Stanescu, editor-in-chief
Adrian Patrusca, and journalist Tana Ardeleanu (f) have been
charged with “libel against authority.” They could face sentences
ranging from three months to six years in jail. They were charged
in connection with “articles denigrating the Presidential office”
in which they accuse the President of having links to the Russian
intelligence service KGB. For several weeks, “Ziua” has published
on an almost daily basis accounts of retired KGB agent Igor
Botnartchuk, who claims to have recruited present Romanian
President Iliescu into the organization in his student days in
Moscow in the 1950s. The three journalists are to be questioned
on 13 June.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to Romanian authorities:
as a serious violation of freedom of expression which seems akin
to censorship of independent information
Romanian media, whether state or independent
Appeals To
His Excellency Ion Iliescu
President
Office of the President
Piata Victoriei 49-53
Bucharest, Romania
Fax: +40 1 312 11 79
the Romanian diplomatic representative in your country
Please copy appeals to the originator if possible.
