Romania’s Military Prosecutor’s Office has indicted former head of state Ion Iliescu on charges of crimes against humanity in the case of using miners for quashing an anti-government demonstration in Bucharest in June 1990.

Other former senior officials are also being investigated in relation to the case, including former PM Petre Roman and Deputy PM Gelu Voican-Voiculescu. Some of them have already been indicted.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, in the period June 13-15, 1990, the accused organised and coordinated “a total and systematic attack” against the civilian population, the demonstrators at the University square in Bucharest and the population of the capital. Armed forces of the Interior Ministry, the information service and over 10,000 miners and workers from other regions of the country participated in the attack.

The Prosecutor’s Office is of the opinion that, via these activities, 4 persons were killed with firearms, 3 were wounded, physical and psychological trauma was inflicted on 1,269 persons and 1,242 persons were sent to prison for political reasons.