New investigation could reveal names of Communist Era officials involved in detention and torture of Romanians

The Romanian authorities have compiled a list of 35 names allegedly involved in detaining and torturing dissidents during the Communist period, according to an Associated Press report published on April 17.

The head of the Institute for Investigating the Crimes of Communism Andrei Muraru told AP on April 16 “that it was important that former oppressors be held accountable.”

The list will be handed to prosecutors in May, according to the report, and concerns 35 former officials who allegedly ran gulags or detention centers “where thousands of people were tortured and killed,” reads the AP article.

Although only a few thousand communist era political detainees are still alive, they helped the authorities in their investigation, which also drew on archives and information held by the Romanian government.

The investigation is the biggest of its kind so far in Romania and could, according to AP, finally reveal the identities of some of those who actively repressed Romanians during the communist era.