A case similar to the one in Vaslui, where a girl was raped by 7 youngsters, occurred in Giurgiu County in 2013. Seven rapists are at large in Giurgiu too, living in the same village with their victim, Antena 3 informs.
Superior Magistracy Council (CSM) President Marius Tudose has notified the Judiciary Inspection, asking it to conduct verifications into the case of the underage girl in Giurgiu.
“As a result of the information made public concerning the case of the underage girl in Giurgiu, Judge Marius Badea Tudose, President of CSM, has notified the Judiciary Inspection in order for it to identify the case file and to conduct verifications in line with Article 74, Paragraph 1 of Law no.317/2004 concerning the Superior Magistracy Council, republished with subsequent modifications,” a communiqué posted on Thursday on the CSM website reads.
Two years ago, seven youngsters who raped a 14-year-old girl in Giurgiu were placed under 24-hour arrest but were then released. According to journalists, the victim’s parents stated that investigations did not continue in this case and no other measures were taken against the seven.
Rape victim in Vaslui receives counselling
The 18-year-old girl raped by seven youngsters in Valeni locality, Vaslui County, will receive counselling from Iasi Psychiatric Institute specialists. The specialists went to the girl’s home on Wednesday afternoon in order to carry out a preliminary assessment.
A working group made up of representatives of the County Police, County School Inspectorate (ISJ), Public Health Department (DSP) and the Iasi Psychiatric Institute will be set up at county level in Vaslui, its task being to prevent and address the consequences of sexual abuses, Vaslui County Prefect Andrei Pucia stated for Mediafax. Police will have the main role, being tasked with informing the working group, in real-time, about any reports it receives.
Meanwhile, the online petition through which civil society condemns the release from preventive arrest of the youngsters accused of rape has received over 200,000 signatures in several days.
Likewise, several physical persons but also representatives of NGOs have announced their presence in Vaslui on August 14, the date of new court proceeding in the case, in order to show their support for the rape victim.
The CSM and the General Prosecutor’s Office have ordered verifications into the legality of the procedures and decisions taken in this case. The Judiciary Inspection informed that it is conducting preliminary verifications in order to establish whether there are clues pointing to disciplinary irregularities committed by the judges that ruled on the preventive measures taken against the seven defendants in the Vaslui rape case, but also by the prosecutors that took part in the court proceedings.
In his turn, Justice Minister Robert Cazanciuc stated that one can talk about possible errors or forms of guilt concerning the Vaslui rape case only after the Judiciary Inspection’s verifications are concluded, pointing out that such an approach is “decent and cautious.”
Victor Ponta: ‘We saw Udrea in handcuffs, but rapists are free’
Prime-Minister Victor Ponta said he was outraged by how the magistrates had treated the Vaslui rape case, releasing the seven perpetrators for the duration of the investigations.
He made that clear in a telephone intervention on B1 TV Wednesday night, when he came to the conclusion that justice is one for politicians and one for rapists, as long as politicians such as Elena Udrea are handcuffed and such violent criminals ate left free.
‘Justice is one for politicians and one for rapists, to go back to the highlight of the last few days. We have seen mayors, we have seen Mrs. Udrea in handcuffs, on the other hand, the rapists are free. Of course that everyone picks up on the abnormality of the situation. And I did ask the minister of justice to act like a minister of justice – he may not be able to reverse court decision or take sanctions against anyone, but at least he can have a clear position, or it may look that all of us are silent and, as long as we have handcuffed ladies or gentlemen in Parliament, rapists can remain free, which is completely wrong’, Victor Ponta said.
During the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the prime-minister asked the Minister of Justice, Robert Cazanciuc, to resign office unless he took measures in the case.
ProTV under CNA scrutiny
The Culture and Mass-media Committee in the Senate says that the thing ProTV made, ‘apart from being outside all moral norms, is also a blatant violation of the legislation, including the Code for the regulation of audio-visual content which expressly prohibits the broadcasting of images of victims of crimes without their consent’.
The National Audio-Visual Council (CNA) has reacted to the disclosure of the identity of the Vaslui rape victim during a ProTV programme. It was one of the quickest reactions of the audio-visual regulatory body lately.
The Senate Committee on Culture and Mass-media has also protested to the manner in which the victim of the Vaslui rape had been covered during the TV show, and asked CNA to urgently look into the situation, noting that ‘an exemplary sanction’ would contribute to a healthier audio-visual in Romania.
