Romanian People's Tribunals
Encyclopedia
The two Romanian People's Tribunals , the Bucharest People's Tribunal and the Northern Transylvania People's Tribunal (which sat in Cluj
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth most populous city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...

) were set up by the post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 government of Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, overseen by the Allied Control Commission to try suspected war criminals, in line with Article 14 of the Armistice Agreement with Romania which said: "The Romanian Government and High Command undertake to collaborate with the Allied (Soviet) High Command in the apprehension and trial of persons accused of war crimes" .

Some 2,700 cases were examined by a commission which found that in about half the cases there was enough evidence to bring prosecutions. 668 were found guilty of war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...

s, crimes against peace and crimes against humanity.

The Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....

 Tribunal sentenced a total of 187 people. At the main trial, in May 1946, of the leaders of the former Fascist government of Ion Antonescu
Ion Antonescu
Ion Victor Antonescu was a Romanian soldier, authoritarian politician and convicted war criminal. The Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II, he presided over two successive wartime dictatorships...

, twenty four defendants stood before the Tribunal. The court handed down 13 death sentences, but six were pronounced in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...

and never carried out. Of the remaining seven death sentences, 3 were commuted to life imprisonment. Ion Antonescu
Ion Antonescu
Ion Victor Antonescu was a Romanian soldier, authoritarian politician and convicted war criminal. The Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II, he presided over two successive wartime dictatorships...

, Mihai Antonescu
Mihai Antonescu
Mihai Antonescu was a Romanian politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister during World War II.-Early career:...

, Constantin Vasiliu and Gheorghe Alexianu were executed on June 1, 1946 at Jilava
Jilava
Jilava is a commune in Ilfov county, Romania, near Bucharest. It is composed of a single village, Jilava.The name derives from a Romanian word of Slavic origin meaning "humid place". Jilava was the location of a fort built by King Carol I of Romania, as part of the capital's defense system...

 prison. The other defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment, or long terms of imprisonment.

The Cluj Tribunal and it successors sentenced 481 people: 370 were Hungarian, 83 were German, 26 were Romanian and 2 were Jewish. The Cluj Tribunal passed a total of 100 death sentences, 163 sentences of life imprisonment, and a range of other sentences.

A high percentage of those condemned to death (including Hungarian writer Albert Wass) were tried in absentia and never brought to justice. Others sentenced to death had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. Those convicted of war crimes, who had demonstrated good behaviour in prison were eligible immediate release under a decree issued in 1950. Quite a few convicted war criminals were released under the provisions of this decree. The rest were released between 1962 and 1964 when a number of amnesties were granted.

See also

  • Iaşi pogrom
    Iasi pogrom
    The Iaşi pogrom or Jassy pogrom of June 27, 1941 was one of the most violent pogroms in Jewish history, launched by governmental forces in the Romanian city of Iaşi against its Jewish population, resulting in the murder of at least 13,266 Jews, according to Romanian authorities.-Background:]During...

  • Soviet occupation of Romania
    Soviet occupation of Romania
    The Soviet occupation of Romania refers to the period from 1944 to August 1958, during which the Soviet Union maintained a significant military presence in Romania...

  • Romania during World War II
    Romania during World War II
    Following the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, the Kingdom of Romania officially adopted a position of neutrality. However, the rapidly changing situation in Europe during 1940, as well as domestic political upheaval, undermined this stance. Fascist political forces such as the Iron...

  • Treznea massacre
    Treznea massacre
    The Treznea massacre occurred in the village of Treznea, Sălaj in north-western Transylvania on 9 September 1940, during the handing over of Northern Transylvania from Romania to Hungary after the Second Vienna Award....

  • Ip massacre
    Ip massacre
    The Ip massacre took place in the early hours of 14 September 1940, in Ip, Sălaj, a village in Northern Transylvania when the Hungarian Army, apparently supported by a local vigilante group, killed 158 Romanian civilians....

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