The two Romanian People's Tribunals (), the Bucharest People's Tribunal and the Northern Transylvania People's Tribunal (which sat in

Cluj Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

) were set up by the post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

government of

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, overseen by the

Allied Control Commission Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allies were in control of the defeated Axis countries. Anticipating the defeat of Germany, Italy and Japan, they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far ...

to try suspected war criminals, in line with Article 14 of the Armistice Agreement with Romania which said: "The Romanian Government and High Command undertake to collaborate with the Allied (

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

) High Command in the apprehension and trial of persons accused of war crimes".

References A reference is a relationship between Object (philosophy), objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to ''refer to'' the second object. ...

RICHR: Ch.12 - Trials of the war criminals, page 5The Armistice Agreement with Rumania
in

Avalon Project The Avalon Project is a digital library of documents relating to law, history and diplomacy. The project is part of the Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library. The project contains online electronic copies of documents dating back to the b ...

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Some 2,700 cases were examined by a commission which found that in about half the cases there was enough evidence to bring prosecutions. 668 were found guilty of

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

crimes against peace The crime of aggression was conceived by Soviet jurist Aron Trainin in the wake of the German invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. Pictured: Stalingrad in ruins, December 1942 A crime of aggression or crime against peace is the p ...

and

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

RICHR: Ch.12 - Trials of the war criminals, page 1 The

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Tribunal sentenced a total of 187 people. At the main trial, in May 1946, of the leaders of the former Fascist government of

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and Mareșal (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''Conduc� ...

, twenty four defendants stood before the Tribunal. The court handed down 13 death sentences, but six were pronounced ''

in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...

'' and never carried out. Of the remaining seven death sentences, 3 were commuted to life imprisonment.

, Mihai Antonescu, , and

Gheorghe Alexianu Gheorghe Alexianu (January 1, 1897 – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian lawyer, high school teacher and associate professor who served as governor of Transnistria between 1941 and 1944. In 1946, he was accused and convicted of war crimes, crim ...

were executed on June 1, 1946 at

Jilava Prison Jilava Prison () is a prison located in Jilava, a village south of Bucharest, Romania. History The prison began as Fort 13, part of the fortifications of Bucharest built in the 1870s and 1880s. It served as an arms deposit and garrison until 1 ...

. The other defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment, or long terms of imprisonment.

RICHR: Ch.12 - Trials of the war criminals, page 2 The Cluj Tribunal and it successors sentenced 481 people: 370 were Hungarian, 83 were German, 26 were Romanian, and 2 were Jewish. The Cluj Tribunal passed a total of 100 death sentences (none carried out), 163 sentences of life imprisonment, and a range of other sentences. A high percentage of those condemned to death (including Hungarian writer Albert Wass) were tried in absentia and their sentences were never carried out. Others sentenced to death had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. Those convicted of war crimes, who had demonstrated good behaviour in prison were eligible for immediate release under a decree issued in 1950. Quite a few convicted war criminals were released under the provisions of this decree. The rest were released between 1962 and 1964 when a number of amnesties were granted.

RICHR: Ch.12 - Trials of the war criminals, page 3

Footnotes

References

Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania
(RICHR) submitted to President

Ion Iliescu Ion Iliescu (; born 3 March 1930) is a Romanian politician and engineer who served as the second president of Romania from 1989 until 1996 and from 2000 until 2004. Between 1996 and 2000 and also from 2004 to 2008, the year in which he retired, ...

in Bucharest on November 11, 2004
and accepted by the Romanian government

Ch.12 - Trials of the war criminals
(PDF) *Zoltan Tibori Szabo
Transylvanian jewry during the postwar period, 1945-48 (Part 2)
' "The People's Tribunals, Intra-Community Accusations and Inquiries"

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

Details on the Northern Transylvanian People's Tribunal in Cluj {{DEFAULTSORT:Peoples Tribunals Judiciary of Romania History of Bucharest History of Cluj-Napoca

Romanian People's Tribunals The two Romanian People's Tribunals (), the Bucharest People's Tribunal and the Northern Transylvania People's Tribunal (which sat in Cluj) were set up by the post-World War II government of Romania, overseen by the Allied Control Commission to try ...

People's Tribunal

See also

Footnotes

References