October 7, 1999
His Excellency Emil Constantinescu
President of Romania
Cotroceni Palace, Bucharest
VIA FAX: 011 40 1 312 11 79
Your Excellency,
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disturbed by two recent violent attacks against journalists investigating corruption in Romania.
On September 23, Marian Tudor, a reporter with the daily Jurnalul de Constantain the Black Sea port of Constanta, was assaulted by two unidentified assailants aboard a train traveling from Constanta to Bucharest. Tudor was delivering edited manuscripts for that day’s edition of Jurnalul de Constantato a printer in the capital.
The attackers beat Tudor and stole the envelope containing the manuscripts before throwing the journalist off the moving train. Tudor suffered minor injuries, and is now back at work. The attackers did not take his cash and other valuables, suggesting that the attack was not a simple robbery. Prior to the assault, Tudor had published several articles uncovering alleged corruption and illicit business deals involving the Ministry of Transport and several shipping companies in Constanta.
In a separate incident the next day, a group of construction workers assaulted Lorena Boros and Dorina Tataran, both reporters with the Gazeta de Nord-Vestdaily in Satu Mare, at the construction site of a new gas station in the city. Boros and Tataran were investigating accusations that the SC IMA SA Baia Mare construction firm had won the municipal contract in a rigged auction. Some half dozen employees from Baia Mare roughed up the reporters and took their equipment, including a camera.
Local police took hours to reach the scene. When they finally arrived, they expressed incredulity at the reporters’ account of the attack. The construction workers, meanwhile, told police they had acted in self-defense after the journalists attacked them. The reporters have filed assault charges against the workers: the case is scheduled to go to trial next month
As a nonpartisan organization of journalists dedicated to defending the rights of our colleagues around the world, CPJ condemns these violent assaults against Marian Tudor, Lorena Boros and Dorina Tataran for practicing their profession. We respectfully remind you of your international obligations to safeguard press freedom and the right of journalists to practice their profession freely and safely. Such incidents foster a climate of fear and intimidation that inhibits journalistic investigation and promotes self-censorship. CPJ urges you to ensure that these attacks, as well as the conduct of the police in Satu Mare, are thoroughly investigated and that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
Thank you for your attention to these urgent matters. We await your comments.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
Join CPJ in Protesting Attacks on the Press in Romania
Send a letter to:
His Excellency Emil Constantinescu
President of Romania
Cotroceni Palace, Bucharest
VIA FAX: 011 40 1 312 11 79