What the newspapers say: May 14, 2008

All Romsnian newspapers on Wednesday mourn the death of Colea Rautu, the country’s oldest actor. Elsewhere in the news, one newspaper reads that hundreds of buildings in Romania will crash if a 7 scale Richter earthquake hits the region. More in the news, Romania was condemned by the European Court of Justice on Tuesday for violent acts against a prisoner.

All newspapers today regret the death of Colea Rautu, 95, famous for playing in dozens of old Romanian movies like Cel mai iubit dintre pamanteni(1993) or Toate panzele sus (1976). Evenimentul Zilei reads that the actor died in a Bucharest hospital due to a hepatic sufferance.

Romanian artists are shocked at the news, director and actor Sergiu Nicolaescu said that this was a tough loss for Romanian culture. His former stage colleague, Jean Constantin regrets the loss of an extraordinary actor and a good friend.

Colea Rautu played in many theatre plays and over 70 Romanian and foreign films in his activity. Among various distinctions, he received the State Prize from Karlovy-Vary, the Czech Republic.

Elsewhere in the news, Gandul evaluates how many Romanians might die if a 7 grade Richter scale earthquake hits Romania. The newspaper reads that more precisely, the lives of some 450,000 Romanians would be threatened if the earthquake hits the country at night.

The paper reads that there are more than 1,000 buildings classes as total or partial collapse in case of an earthquake, in the Bucharest old center. Moreover, the paper suggests that more would die waiting for special emergency teams to arrive.

Currently, some 2,300 people die because ambulances are too late due to the traffic. INCERC experts drawing a terrible script warn that hospitals are likely to collapse also. Moreover, life of the citizens in the Capital city is also threatened by the presence of some dozenns of factories producing or using toxic materials, spread all around Bucharest.

Nonetheless, Physics Institute director, Gheorghe Marmureanu says that until 2012 an earthquake is not likely to hit the country because the usual epicenter, Vrancea region, is not loaded for such a magnitude.

Last but not least, Romania is condemned by the European Court of Justice of violent treatments against a detainee in 1996, Cotidianul reads. Florin Georgescu was hanged in his cell after being aggressed, raped and tortured.

Thus, Romania was condemned by ECJ for inhuman and indecent treatments. Florin Georgescu, aged 30, was initially arrested for forgery for three months. However, Georgescu said that in the first four months, he was aggressed by both police forces and other prison colleagues.

The Court’s decision is based upon a medical report set up a month after the incidents which concludes that the wounds are serious enough to be considered a violation of article 3 of the European Human Rights Convention. Thus, the European Court decided that Georgescu receive 8000 euro in moral damages.