Former Romania president charged with crimes against humanity

Romanian military prosecutors officially accused former President Ion Iliescu on Tuesday of alleged crimes against humanity during the violent uprising that brought down the country's communist leader, Nikolai Ceausescu, in December 1989.

Prosecutors summoned Iliescu, 88, to court Tuesday morning and informed him of the indictment. The former head of state stayed about an hour with prosecutors and refused to comment on the indictment. Romania's Prosecutor General asked permission on April 2nd to prosecute Iliescu and former Prime Minister Petre Roman for crimes against humanity during the 1989 uprising. Former Prime Minister Gelu Voican Voiculescu is also set to prosecute. President Klaus Iohannis approved the request on April 13th. Prosecutors say Iliescu, Roman and Voiculescu were at the helm of the National Rescue Front Council in December 1989, when protests against the regime turned violent, causing more than 1,000 deaths and 2,500 people were injured.

The 1989 revolution issue has been one of the longest and most controversial investigations in Romania's history. In 1990, the Bucharest Military Prosecutor opened a criminal investigation into the case, but the investigation has been halted and reopened four times since then. /panorama.