Romanian Rock Club Fire Trial Delays Anger Victims

Victims of the Bucharest rock club fire that killed 65 people and injured hundreds in October 2015 expressed outrage on Monday, as a court in the Romanian capital failed to assign a new judge to the case following the retirement of the previous judge.

The Colectiv fire case is one of Romania's most controversial trials. The tragedy in 2015 triggered mass anti-corruption protests in the capital and led to the resignation of the Social Democrat cabinet, led by Victor Ponta, then replaced with a technocratic cabinet headed by former European Commissioner Dacian Ciolos.

Despite the political changes and the fact that prosecutors in April 2016 indicted a former mayor of a Bucharest district, the owners of the club and several local officials who had granted permits for the club without verifying the situation on the ground, the case has made little progress in three years.

The trial officially started only in September 2017, almost two years after the incident, with several victims and families of victims filing requests for the state to pay damages.

However, the court in May 2018 rejected the victims' families' request to include the Ministry of Finance as a party in the trial.

On September 3, the presiding judge, Valeriu Miahil Terceanu, retired and, although a hearing on this was scheduled for Monday, the court did not assign a new judge.

The court postponed the hearing for October 22, when the families of the victims expect a new judge to follow Romanian law and order a re-trial.

"As we expected, justice follows its course," Eugen Iancu, president of the Colectiv Association representing victims and families, ironically wrote on Facebook on Monday. "Three years after Colectiv [fire], 65 deaths, no one is guilty and there is...