More than 6 years after the fire that killed 65 people
\nand injured severely another 150, the penalties in the Colectiv case may be
\nreduced.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Three judges from the Bucharest Court of Appeals have
\nchanged in part the legal qualification of the offences, more specifically they
\nremoved the aggravating circumstances from consideration with respect to the
\noffence of abuse in office for some of the defendants, including the former
\nmayor of Bucharest’s sector where the nightclub was located, Cristian
\nPopescu-Piedone. Removing the word aggravated from the definition of the
\noffence leads to milder sentences.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
This is an important decision, and is the last step
\nahead of a final ruling in the trial. In December 2019, the Bucharest Court of
\nJustice had issued the first rulings on the case. At that time, Piedone was
\nsentenced to 8 years and 6 months in prison, for abuse of office related to the
\nissuing of the operation licenses for the Colectiv nightclub. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Prison sentences were also ordered for the three
\nowners of the club, two City Hall employees in charge with supervising fire
\nprotection, the owners of the company that provided fireworks and the
\npyrotechnicians. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The defendants were also ordered to pay, jointly with
\nthe City Hall and the Bucharest-Ilfov Inspectorate for Emergency Situations a
\ncombined 50 million euros to the victims of the fire.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Both the defendants, and the prosecutors appealed the
\nruling, and the case was referred to the Bucharest Court of Appeals. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The survivors and the victims’ families have released
\nan open letter challenging the decision to change the legal qualification of
\nthe offences, arguing that it leads to milder penalties, which would thus
\nbecome small and insignificant, out of proportion compared to the gravity
\nof the offences and their consequences, a fact that would cast shadow on the
\nentire judicial process in Romania.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
On 30th October, 6 years after the tragedy for
\nwhich no one has been held liable so far, the survivors and victims’ families
\nprotested in silence against the postponement of a final ruling on the case. They
\nlit candles and placed photos of the victims, as well as photos of some
\npoliticians deemed responsible for the tragedy, in front of the Court of Appeals
\nbuilding. Some of the participants lied down next to the photos of the
\ndeceased, covering themselves in white sheets. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Moreover, the survivors who needed specialised care
The penalties for the defendants in the case involving the Colectiv nightclub fire may be lowered<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":90243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[40388,29431,28950,29420,29423,40389,29283,29441],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-90242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-burning","tag-colectiv","tag-corruption","tag-fire","tag-nightclub","tag-penalties","tag-trial","tag-victims"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nand who are still under treatment warn that even today in-hospital infections
\nare not properly reported and monitored. Romania still lacks centres for the
\ntreatment and recovery of patients with severe burns. The families and friends
\nof those who died 6 years ago, as well as civil society representatives,
\ncomplain that little has changed in the Romanian healthcare system, and the
\ninvestigation and trial are going round in circles. The next court date is set
\nfor 17th November, when the membership of the panel of judges for
\nthe next stages of the trial is to be discussed. (tr. A.M. Popescu<\/em>)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"