Teenage murder: President Iohannis calls for changes in criminal laws

President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, calls for changes in the criminal legislation and attributions of some state institutions, following kidnapping and murder of teenage girls in Caracal, that shook Romania. Head of State will submit proposals in the Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT) meeting, scheduled for Tuesday. Klaus Iohannis accuses PSD government of changing the laws of justice, replacing professionals, corruption and nepotism, all of these creating conditions for the two crimes.

RRA Reporter Carmen Gavrilă: "As President Klaus Iohannis said, it is not enough just to punish the guilty individuals, because state institutions also did not protect the fundamental right to life of the young girls in Caracal. He said there was no need for a referendum, as Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă asked, but for concrete measures. Head of State will propose in the CSAT meeting that Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) be able to investigate multiple kidnappings and crimes, similar to same institutions in the West. President Iohannis will also request an analysis of the legislation that establishes the powers of prosecutors' offices in cases of kidnapping and murder with multiple victims, as well as possible amendments to criminal law, in reference to investigation and procedures when the life or physical integrity of a citizen is danger.

President Klaus Iohannis: "Following repeated interventions on criminal legislation, as well as the context of the latest actions of new tools invented by PSD, cooperation between police officers and prosecutors has become deficient and the one who suffers is the Romanian citizen. Criminal legislation needs to be amended in the interest of defending fundamental rights and not defending offenders".

President calls on Government to take urgent action so that tragedies like this will never happen again, because it has the necessary leverage. Klaus Iohannis also urges PSD and ALDE to revoke legislative amendments made in the past two years to the laws of justice and criminal codes.

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In the Caracal case, victim called 112 several times and shouted for help, but officials failed to take the alert seriously and finally reacted too late.

Alexandra Macesanu (aged 15) went missing last Wednesday after she was picked up by a car while hitchhiking to go home to Dobrosloveni, southern Romania, police said. Macesanu called emergency number 112 three times, saying that a man had kidnapped her. However, it took authorities 19 hours to locate and enter suspect’s residence, as they struggled to locate her calls. After finding location, they waited over the night to get a warrant to search suspect’s house, according to official reports. Police arrived at location on Friday, but did not find the girl or her body. They held suspect, 65 year-old mechanic. On Sunday, police went together with the suspect at the crime scene and mechanic confessed to having killed Alexandra Macesanu and Luiza Melencu (aged 18) who went missing in April, as suspect’s lawyer said. He also told investigators that he burned the two girls to dispose of their bodies.

Murder outraged Romania, and people in Bucharest went out on the streets, shouting accusations of incompetence and calling for the Government to step down. They were angry that the Special Telecommunicationa Service (STS) failed to provide girls’s exact location after her 112 calls, but also because the police and prosecutors waited for authorization instead of releasing it immediately, which could have saved the girl’s life. Demonstrators placed flowers and candles outside the Interior Ministry the following evening.

Interior Minister Nicolae Moga has fired Romanian Police Chief Ioan Buda, Olt County Prefect Petre Neacsu, and Olt County Police Chief Cristian Voiculescu.

According to latest information broadcasted by Digi24, Ionel-Sorinel Vasilca resigned, on Monday morning, from the position of Director of the Special Telecommunications Service (STS). Resignation was announced in a press release and follows failure of STS to locate the area where teenaged Alexandra called for help on 112.

Source:RRA.Translated by Miruna Matei