What situation is Lucian Pahonțu not in?

President Nicușor Dan says Lucian Pahonțu was not involved in repressing Romania’s 1989 Revolution or the June 1990 miners’ riot. Yet Pahonțu’s own handwritten statement, as cited in the commentary, says he took part in the Revolution as a platoon commander in the security troops and was present at several points around the city.

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The repression of the demonstrations during the Revolution and the Miners’ Riot is a stain on Romania’s history.

Dan’s full statement called the repression of the Revolution and the miners’ riot “a stain on Romania’s history.” He said it was regrettable that prosecutors had still not clarified the events, and argued that anyone who had participated in repression should not hold a senior position in the Romanian state. He then said Pahonțu did not fall into that category, while acknowledging that he had not personally carried out an assessment.

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It is regrettable that the prosecutors have not clarified it to this day.

The commentary challenges that conclusion as an omission that misrepresented Pahonțu’s role and implicated former presidents Traian Băsescu and Klaus Johannis, as well as Dan himself, because they were said to have known the relevant facts. It focuses on the area around the Inter barricade, where Pahonțu acknowledged being present.

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Anyone who took part in acts of repression has no place in a senior position in the Romanian state.

The text argues that security troops could not have remained uninvolved while protesters were beaten, arrested and confronted amid gunfire. It says dozens died near the barricade, hundreds were beaten or detained, and about 1,000 people were taken to Rahova prison. Its conclusion is that Dan knew both about Pahonțu’s activities during the Revolution and about the omission concerning his alleged lack of involvement in the repression.

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Mr. Pahonțu is not in this situation.