Mihai Chițac (November 4, 1928 – November 1, 2010) was a

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 ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

and

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

from 1989 to 1990 during the waning days of the

Communist era A communist era is a sustained period of national government by a single party following the philosophy of Marxism–Leninism. Many countries have experienced such a period of communist rule. Current communist states China The Chinese Communist ...

. In 2008, Chițac and another general,

Victor Stănculescu Victor Atanasie Stănculescu (10 May 1928 – 19 June 2016) was a Romanian general during the Communist era. He played a central role in the overthrow of the dictatorship by refusing to carry out the orders of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușesc ...

, were convicted of aggravated

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

by the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

for the shooting deaths of

pro-democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. Whether and to what ...

protesters during the

Romanian Revolution of 1989 The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily within the Eastern Bloc. The Romanian revoluti ...

. Communist Romanian

security forces Security forces are statutory organizations with internal security mandates. In the legal context of several countries, the term has variously denoted police and military units working in concert, or the role of irregular military and paramilitar ...

fired

live ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

at protesters and civilians between December 17 and 20, 1989, killing 72 civilians and injuring 253 others. Generals Chițac and Stănculescu were originally convicted and sentenced for multiple

aggravated murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

charges during a 1999 trial. The trial had found both guilty of ordering troops and security forces to shoot pro-democracy and anti-communist protesters in

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

. Chițac's prison terms were discontinued on six occasions due to deteriorating health. The Romanian Supreme Court further sentenced Chițac and Stănculescu to fifteen years in prison for aggravated manslaughter on October 16, 2008. Chiţac was admitted to Bucharest Military Hospital on September 19, 2010, for cardiac problems and tumors discovered that same month. He died at his home in

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 ...

at 10 a.m. on November 1, 2010. He is buried at Ghencea Military Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chitac, Mihai 1928 births 2010 deaths People from Botoșani County Romanian generals Ministers of interior of Romania People of the Romanian revolution Military personnel from Bucharest Romanian people convicted of manslaughter Burials at Ghencea Cemetery