EXCLUSIVE: Romanian Man Acquitted Of Double Murder To Receive EUR490,000 In Damages

Romania must pay EUR490,000 in damages to Alexandru Diaconescu, arrested in December 2004 for the murder of two drug store clerks in Brasov, central Romania, as the man has been acquitted by three courts of law, including the Supreme Court in 2008, people close to the matter told MEDIAFAX Monday.

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The Court of Bucharest partly approved Monday a request filed by Diaconescu's attorneys a year ago. The sentence grants Diaconescu 150,000 lei (EUR1=RON4.1792) in material damages and RON2 million in general damages.

The sentence can be appealed.

According to Diaconescu's request, he was placed arrested from December 15, 2004, until October 27, 2005, on counts of aggravated murder, robbery and violating the regime of arms and ammunition. He was forbidden to leave Brasov for 16 months after his release from custody.

Diaconescu asked the court to cover his attorneys' fees, legal fees, loans, rent, healthcare expenses and the equivalent of the wage he could have earned during his arrest.

Diaconescu incurred general damages by being imprisoned and denied the right to leave town, but especially by having his public image tarnished in the media. According to the young man, he was never presumed innocent, and the press constantly referred to him as "the murderer".

Diaconescu added that the arrest caused his fiancé to break up with him and led him to several suicide attempts. He also said that attempts were made to intimidate witnesses testifying on his behalf.

On November 25, 2008, the Supreme Court acquitted Diaconescu, the main suspect in the double crime which took place in a Brasov drugstore in December 2004. Diaconescu had also been acquitted by two lesser courts.

The Court's decision said that investigators had given too much credit to one witness, who claimed Diaconescu had killed the two drugstore clerks. Judges added that the witnesses' testimonies were affected by the intensive press coverage of the case. DNA samples and ballistic tests proved that Diaconescu did not commit the murders.

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