Court Releases Romanian Ex General Chitac, Reincarcerates Stanculescu

The Bucharest Military Court of Appeals returned Friday different rulings for the two former generals convicted for the killing of civilians in the 1989 anti-communist revolution.

The court decided to release Chitac for a period of three months on medical grounds, admitting thus Chitac's request that his release be prolonged by two months, while Stanculescu, who had been released for a year in May, will return to prison. Both rulings are final.

The Bucharest Military Court decided in June to discontinue Chitac's 15-year prison sentence for one month, to allow him to undergo surgery.

Stanculescu's lawyer Alice Draghici said Friday her client cannot be imprisoned unless the Military Court of Appeals issues a new serving sentence warrant registered on September 18 and added this document must be sent to the penitentiary where Stanculescu should be imprisoned.

Magistrates within the Military Court of Appeals judged both Stanculescu's and Chitac's files on September 16.

Stanculescu, also sentenced to 15 years in prison, had coffee and smoked while judges decided whether to send him back to prison, although his defense had repeatedly argued he is critically ill and has severe heart and lung problems. Visibly annoyed by reporters' questions concerning his state of health coupled with his smoking and coffee drinking, Stanculescu said he can do whatever he wants with his life.

On September 1, HotNews release a video of Stanculescu playing a machine in a casino in Bucharest, where he spent more than two hours. The retired general rebuked reporters who inquired about his state of health.

In October 2008, Romania's High Court of Justice sentenced Stanculescu to 15 years in prison for aggravated manslaughter during the 1989 revolution that started in the western Romanian city of Timisoara and ultimately led to the fall of the communist regime.

In December 17-20, 1989, security forces fired at civilians, killing 72 people and injuring 253. A woman was run over by a tank in the city and 43 people were severely beaten by security forces.

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