REPORT on the case of Valentin Dragan, journalist with the daily "Cugetul liber" from Constanta
Ion Carlig, chief of the Constanta County Police Inspectorate (IPJ Constanta) invited several police officers (about 40) to Hanul Piratilor (Pirates' Inn) in the village of Mamaia to celebrate his promotion to the rank of general. The inn is actually a tourist resort, with small huts, restaurant, terrace, etc. The party was organised in the open; the tables were set in a "U" shape, with the opening towards the band podium. Nothing indicated that it was strictly a private party, with limited access to the area, as the police officers alleged later on.
The daily "Cuget liber" wanted to cover Mr Carlig's promotion in an article accompanied by a photo from the party. It should be mentioned that, until this incident, the newspaper had enjoyed a good working relationship with IPJ Constanta and with the municipal police. Therefore, around 6 p.m., Gheorghe Ciuciu, one of the daily's photo reporters, went to the party in one of the newspapers' cars. He drove the car on the alleys and stopped four times to take pictures. None of the participants to the party protested. At the fourth stop, Major Saragea, IPJ spokesman, who knew Ciuciu, dashed at him, accompanied by four other police officers, and asked him to give them his camera and ID. Gheorghe Ciuciu said he gave in only because the group of police officers, led by Saragea, had surrounded him and were threatening him ("Get lost!" they shouted). The photographer tried to explain that the camera was very expensive (over $1000) and that it contained pictures taken beforehand, which had to appear in the next day's issue of the newspaper (a promotion contract had been concluded in this sense). Gheorghe Ciuciu did not succeed in getting his message across and called the editorial office around 6:15 p.m. He was asked to go back to the office, which he did, after leaving the camera and his ID, which were both returned to him the next day.
Dorin Epure, chief-editor of "Cuget liber", accompanied by 7 journalists and employees (Nona Jalba, Simona Stefanescu, Valentin Dragan, Gheorghe Ciuciu, Mihai Maftei, Marius Zaganeanu, Pompiliu Bornac) and two drivers went to Pirates' Inn in two cars to get the camera back and settle the conflict. They reached the inn around 7 p.m. While Dorin Epure was talking to General Carlig, asking him to return the camera seized an hour before, Valentin Dragan took several pictures of the participants to the party. In one of the pictures, Major Saragea was holding the camera he had just seized. The flash went on at the fourth picture, drawing Major Saragea's attention. Accompanied by three or four other police officers, he dashed at Dragan and tried to take his camera by force. All he succeeded in doing was to break the latter's belt. When the youngster refused to give it him the camera, Saragea took him by the neck, a second person took him by the head and forced him down on his back, while other two persons seized his arms. Valentin Dragan was holding the camera to his chest as a rugby ball. In that instant, the reporter felt terrible a terrible pain all ober his body and crashed down on the grass. When he tried to get up, he realised that his left leg was broken. Simona Stefanescu, one of Dragan's colleagues, saw him surrounded by police officers and threw herself at them, hoping that a small, thin woman would stop their aggressive impulse. The journalists' only "success" was to prevent the police officers from seizing Valentin Dragan's camera. The attackers scattered immediately.
Dorin Epure was also abused (mostly verbally) and pushed around in the presence of General Carlig. He realised what had happened only when he saw Valentin Dragan on the ground. He noticed that the band had stopped playing during the incident. It is surprising that General Carlig did not notice the incident or the fact that the band had stopped playing. It is also surprising that the other police officers seated at tables, who had witnessed the whole incident, did not react. It is obvious that some of them had seen the way Saragea and the other police officers had treated Dragan, as the incident took place 5-6 metres away from the table.
All the journalists confirmed that the police officers had threatened and abused them throughout the incident.
The General Police Inspectorate launched immediately an internal investigation and issued a press release on 16 May to the effect that four officers (Major Saragea included) had been suspended. On the other hand, the Military Department of the General Prosecutor's Office sent two military prosecutors to Constanta, as the journalists did not believe that the Constanta Military Prosecutor's Office would conduct an unbiased investigation.
Valentin Dragan was admitted to the county hospital and diagnosed with fibula fracture. Besides that, the journalist's hands and arms were bruised as a result of the attempt to pull the camera from his hands. The bruises were still visible when the APADOR-CH representatives visited him.
Valentin Dragan underwent surgery on 17 May, when several "screws" were introduced in his left leg. The fibula fracture is going to be solved at least three months later - unless any complications arise - when the "screws" are going to be removed.
After the incident, the newspaper's editorial office sought the opinion of a forensic specialist. The latter suggested, in a provisional medical certificate, that it could have been a "self-inflicted" accident, that is, Valentin Dragan could have pirouetted in a strange way and fallen on his left leg, breaking it. A martial arts expert consulted by the editorial office declared that "the fracture was the result of a violent action": either of a strong blow with the foot wearing a shoe or of a violent technique by means of which the journalist's foot was twisted. Valentin Dragan will challenge the conclusions of the forensic specialist, which exhonerates the police officers, at least to a certain degree.
A last note regards General Ion Carlig's visit to the hospital, the day after the incident. He went on and on whispering in Dragan's year that he was sorry and that "everything will be all right". But Valentin Dragan was not willing to "forgive" his attackers and "settle" the conflict, so the general's attempt was to no avail. The general’s visit took place in the presence of numerous other persons that the journalist had insistently asked to stay in the ward during this discussion.
Conclusions:
- APADOR-CH considers that this instance of physical abuse perpetrated by police officers against a person is aggravated by the fact that the victim was a journalist on duty. Besides, all the journalists that witnessed the incident were verbally abused and threatened. Some witnesses alleged that one of the police officers (Raicu?) had said he would have "shot" Ciuciu (the first photographer involved in this incident) had he caught him. The police officers seem to ignore that they are law enforcement officers, paid from the taxpayers' money and who must consequently accept a more strict supervision from the public opinion, represented, in this case, by the journalists;
- The association considers that the seizure of Gheorghe Ciuciu's camera and ID, followed by the violent action by means of which the police officers tried to seize Valentin Dragan's camera, represent an abuse as well as an attempt to intimidate the journalists. The whole incident proves the police officers' lack of respect for constitutional rights such as freedom of expression and access to information;
- APADOR-CH considers that the non-intervention of General Carlig and of the other police officers that did not participate directly in the incident is unacceptable. Even if the general did not witness the incident during which Valentin Dragan's leg was fractured, he tolerated the illegal and unjustified confiscation of Gheorghe Ciuciu's camera and ID (he even refused to give them back, when Dorin Epure asked him to). He also tolerated his subordinates' verbal abuses and threat against the journalists;
- According to the journalists who witnessed the incident, the ground was flat; therefore, Valentin Dragan, a young man with an athletic body, could hardly have injured himself. The association urges the criminal investigation bodies to take into consideration this aspect if the final medical certificate issued by a forensic specialist concludes that the injury was self-inflicted.
APADOR-CH urges the Constanta Military Prosecutor's Office and the Military Department of the General Prosecutor's Office to conduct a speedy and unbiased investigation, so as to make sure that the culprits are made accountable for their deeds.
Manuela
Stefanescu
Valerian Stan
George Anglitoiu