Ceausescu's identity confirmed
Source: Agencies |
November 4, 2010, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
DNA tests confirmed Romania's late leader Nicolae Ceausescu was buried two decades ago in a Bucharest grave, forensic experts said yesterday, lifting doubt over the ruler's burial place.
Ceausescu ruled Romania from 1965 until he and his wife Elena were captured and shot by firing squad on Christmas Day in 1989.
The execution took place at an army base near the town of Targoviste and the bodies were buried without fanfare, causing many Romanians and remaining family members to doubt whether the graves in Bucharest really contained his remains.
"The DNA from his brother and his son show that it is Nicolae Ceausescu," said Dan Dermengiu, head of Romania's forensic institute.
The family had threatened to sue the Romanian state if the remains - exhumed on July 21 - had not belonged to the Ceausescus.
Dermengiu said in the case of Elena, there was not enough material available for a conclusive test.
The remains of the Ceausescus were exhumed in July following requests by their daughter Zoia, who died of lung cancer in 2006, her husband Mircea Oprean and Ceausescu's son Valentin.
Oprean was quoted by local media as saying at the time that he saw his father-in-law's coat riddled with bullets: "After what I saw, I tend to believe they are them."
Zoia first asked for the identities of the bodies to be checked soon after the executions, but the process was delayed for years as it proceeded through Romania's bureaucratic legal system.
Ceausescu ruled Romania from 1965 until he and his wife Elena were captured and shot by firing squad on Christmas Day in 1989.
The execution took place at an army base near the town of Targoviste and the bodies were buried without fanfare, causing many Romanians and remaining family members to doubt whether the graves in Bucharest really contained his remains.
"The DNA from his brother and his son show that it is Nicolae Ceausescu," said Dan Dermengiu, head of Romania's forensic institute.
The family had threatened to sue the Romanian state if the remains - exhumed on July 21 - had not belonged to the Ceausescus.
Dermengiu said in the case of Elena, there was not enough material available for a conclusive test.
The remains of the Ceausescus were exhumed in July following requests by their daughter Zoia, who died of lung cancer in 2006, her husband Mircea Oprean and Ceausescu's son Valentin.
Oprean was quoted by local media as saying at the time that he saw his father-in-law's coat riddled with bullets: "After what I saw, I tend to believe they are them."
Zoia first asked for the identities of the bodies to be checked soon after the executions, but the process was delayed for years as it proceeded through Romania's bureaucratic legal system.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
