Valentin Ceausescu, the only surviving son of the late Communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu, has asked a a court to grant him the status of an injured party in an ongoing trial of Romania’s bloody 1989 revolution, daily Adevarul reported.
A trial investigating the revolution where about 1,100 died is taking place at the Court of Cassation and Justice.
Former President Ion Iliescu, former deputy Prime Minister Gelu Voican Voiculescu, and ex-air force chief Iosif Rus are charged with crimes against humanity for sowing the deadly chaos that followed Ceausescu’s ousting.
Prosecutors say their maneuvering resulted in 800 deaths after Ceausescu fled power on December 22 until his death by firing squad three days later.
Adevarul reported that Valentin Ceausescu, 72, had submitted documents to demonstrate he is the successor to Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu. His siblings Nicu and Zoe are no longer alive.
Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu were executed after a summary trial on December 25, 1989. Ceausescu says they should be considered injured parties in the revolution, the paper reported.
Valentin Ceausescu was arrested during the revolution and freed nine months later. No charges were brought against him.
The paper cited an anonymous source saying that Ceausescu was not seeking material damages.
Nicolae Ceausescu ruled the country with an iron fist for 25 years. In the final years, Romanians endured food shortages, insufficient heating and light, and widespread surveillance from the Securitate secret police who stifled almost all dissent.
The next hearing is on February 21. The court has summoned 5,000 witnesses.
Teodor Maries, the chairman of the 21 December Association, a group that is pushing for justice for victims of the revolution, says the case has been badly assembled and called on prosecutors to redo it.
