Romanian Ex General Mihai Chitac Dies After Long Illness

Over the past few weeks, Chitac had been receiving medical care for several chronic conditions.

On September 19, 2010, Chitac was admitted at the Bucharest Military Hospital, where he received pluri-disciplinary treatment both for his longtime cardiac problems and for some large tumors detected by doctors early September. Chitac’s prison sentence had been discontinued six times on medical grounds.

On October 16, 2008, the Supreme Court sentenced former high-ranking generals Athanasie Stanculescu and Chitac to 15 years in prison each for aggravated manslaughter during the 1989 revolution. Chitac and Stanculescu were first sentenced in 1999 on aggravated murder charges for ordering troops to fire on demonstrators in Timisoara city, western Romania.

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.