The Foundation For The Defense Of Citizens Against State Abuses (FACIAS) has requested that the Minister of Internal Affairs dispatch a control body to assess the conduct of the two police officers who recently detained and injured a German citizen in the Iasi airport area.
Information published in the press indicates that the officers' conduct was unprofessional, resulting in injuries to the German citizen and an attempt to immobilize him. However, it is evident that the German citizen was not dangerous or aggressive. In light of the aforementioned circumstances, FACIAS calls for an investigation into this case, with a particular focus on whether the officers in question acted in accordance with established procedures.
We also recall the case of the citizen from the South Bus Station in Pitesti who died while police officers were trying to immobilise him. More than four years after this case, the two policemen are being tried in a criminal case for abusive behaviour, which also attracted the attention of the US, which included the case of abuse in the State Department's report on respect for human rights in Romania.
FACIAS has recently reported that abuse and unprofessional behaviour by public officials is a recognised problem in Romania and has launched a wide-ranging study to analyse how public institutions deal with citizens' complaints. Who is the state defending? Citizens or its own employees?
The results so far are extremely worrying. They show excessive protection of officials at the expense of citizens. But the situation in the Ministry of the Interior is peculiar. Out of 4500 complaints about the behaviour of MAI officials, only 5 were resolved with sanctions, a ridiculous 0.1%. The current situation raises serious questions about the efficiency and fairness of the system for investigating complaints against MAI staff.
