On the 30th of October
\nthis year, Romania commemorated four years since its biggest tragedy in times
\nof peace: 64 people, mostly young people, were killed and 200 injured, one also
\ncommitting suicide later, in a fire that broke out during a concert at the
\nColectiv nightclub, which was located in a former factory in Bucharest. <\/p>\n
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The fire was caused by fireworks lit
\nup during the concert. The sparks touched the foam covering the pillars and
\nwalls of the overcrowded club, which only had one exit door. The fire lasted
\n153 seconds, but it was enough for some spectators to die at the site and for
\nothers to stampede and to get hurt by the flames and the smoke on their way
\nout. <\/p>\n
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For two years, the trial that began
\nin the wake of the tragedy was blocked for procedural reasons, but the judge
\ninitially appointed to handle the case eventually retired and was replaced by
\nanother in October 2018. The latter promised to bring the case to an end and
\nbegan holding hearings with dozens of witnesses and victims on a weekly basis.
\nThe hearings came to an end on Monday, and the first sentence is expected next
\nMonday, on the 9th of December. The decision of the Bucharest
\nTribunal judge will not, however, be final. <\/p>\n
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In any case, prosecutors called for
\ntough sentences of up to 15 years in prison for all those indicted, namely two
\nemployees of the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations accused of allowing the
\nclub to function despite knowing it did not have a fire licence; the former
\nmayor of the Bucharest sector in which the club was located, Cristian Popescu
\nPiedone, and three employees under him for abuse of office and complicity to
\nabuse of office; the three owners of the club for aggravated manslaughter,
\nserious bodily harm and failure to take the obligatory safety and work
\nmeasures; as well as the workers who set up the fireworks and their employer.
\nMoreover, the civil part in the trial, namely the families of the dead and the
\ninjured, have also demanded huge compensations to the amount of millions of
\neuros. None of those accused has pleaded guilty, asking instead to be
\nacquitted. <\/p>\n
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Politically speaking, the price for
\nwhat happened at Colectiv on the 30th of October 2015 was already
\npaid when the government led at the time by the Social Democrat Victor Ponta
\nresigned after pressure from tens of thousands of protesters chanting a
\nslogan that has endured: Corruption kills. Even so, a survivor of the
\ntragedy four years ago said after the hearings on Monday that someone else
\nshould also be on trial, namely the Romanian state. Things didn’t function as
\nthey should have and people died as a result, so it’s the entire system represented
\nby the Romanian state that should be on trial, he said. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The first sentence in the Colectiv trial is expected next Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":83917,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[29431,29283],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-83916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-colectiv","tag-trial"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n