Military Court Rejects Romanian Ex-General Stanculescu’s Request For Remission

Stanculescu's lawyer Catalin Dancu said he will appeal the court ruling. Stanculescu asked judges to discontinue his jail sentence, arguing his health condition has worsened.

On October 16, 2008, the Supreme Court sentenced former high-ranking generals Athanasie Stanculescu and Mihai 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 shoot at demonstrators in Timisoara city, western Romania.

In May 2009, the Bucharest Military Court allowed Stanculescu's release from prison for one year, on medical grounds. His lawyers said at that time that the former general couldn't stand trial because he was in intensive care in the hospital.

On September 1, 2009, HotNews released 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.

Chitac died Monday morning, at age 82, at his home in capital Bucharest, after having received medical care for several chronic conditions over the past few weeks. He was buried Wednesday in Bucharest, without military honors.

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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