Skip to content
Support Us

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Three days after denying an alive man's existence, Romania gives a dead man his driving licence back

The court ruled in Valerian Vasiliu’s favour but he died a few days later.

Romania Dead Man Walking Constantin Reliu Simona Voicu / AP Simona Voicu / AP / AP

DAYS AFTER A Romanian court refused to declare a living man alive, another tribunal has ruled that a dead man can have his driving licence back.

Valerian Vasiliu appealed last March to a court in Iasi in north-eastern Romania against losing his licence after being caught speeding.

The court ruled in his favour but he died a few days later. The police, unmoved, appealed the ruling, which has however now been upheld.

Last week a court rejected the request of another man, Constantin Reliu, from the eastern town of Barlad, to have his death certificate annulled.

Reliu left the country in the early 1990s and returned in January, only to discover his family had had him declared dead, media reports said.

Without any official proof that he is alive, Reliu (63), who has no contact with his family, cannot enter employment or claim benefits.

He faces another legal process to prove with documentation that he has been alive since the certificate was issued.

© – AFP, 2018

Read: ‘The first of many’ – Trump hits China with tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports

Read: Researchers solve the mystery of ‘alien’ skeleton found 15 years ago

Author
View 24 comments
Close
24 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute margaret
    Favourite margaret
    Report
    Dec 27th 2013, 9:00 AM

    I wonder if someone did take him out 30 years ago, would Zimbabwe be the basket case he turned it into, or would some other “leader”, equally malingnant have just taken his place.

    121
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Emily Elephant
    Favourite Emily Elephant
    Report
    Dec 27th 2013, 9:44 AM

    It’s tempting to write Africa off, but these things are not inevitable. The neighbours in Botswana were a landlocked, diamond rich former colony. Not an obvious candidate for success. And yet they were, partly because of Seretse Khama’s leadership, but also because people kept voting for him.

    41
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute margaret
    Favourite margaret
    Report
    Dec 27th 2013, 9:56 AM

    Unfortunately, for every relative success story there are 50 failed states. Nation building is hard and requires guts, enterprise, selflessness and vision. Mugabe wasn’t even asked to nation build. He was handed a fully functioning, very rich and successful country and managed to level it in less than a generation. That takes mean spiritness, stupidity, and the most crass selfishness and myopic vision, which, unfortunately, seems to be the calibre of most African leaders. Take and destroy is what they do and in the meantime, the west continues to do what the west does best. Assuage our feelings of western guilt by feeding, clothing and vaccinating the Africans left behind by their very own “leaders”.

    62
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Red Rooster
    Favourite Red Rooster
    Report
    Dec 27th 2013, 5:05 PM

    We can write much of Africa off if the Chinese economy falters, And also, we can take Australia with it.

    4
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Anthony Quinn
    Favourite Anthony Quinn
    Report
    Dec 27th 2013, 10:17 AM

    Problem with africa is its full of africans

    34
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Duncan
    Favourite Duncan
    Report
    Dec 27th 2013, 9:25 AM

    “Unfortunate event”

    In who’s eyes ????

    32
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute John Conroy
    Favourite John Conroy
    Report
    Dec 27th 2013, 10:46 AM

    Funny that at Mandela’s memorial when the camera would go to different world leaders the crowd would cheer or boo depending on who it was on. Mugabe got a massive cheer and Bush Jnr got a massive boo. Ya no your screwed when Mugabe gets a bigger cheer than ya!

    27
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute ThomasFrancisMeagher
    Favourite ThomasFrancisMeagher
    Report
    Dec 27th 2013, 11:31 AM

    It was an ANC crowd at the funeral & Mugabe was a big supporter if the ANC during apartheid times so I’d be sure that’s why he was cheered rather than for his recent policies.

    15
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute margaret
    Favourite margaret
    Report
    Dec 27th 2013, 2:20 PM

    That says a lot more about the crowd than it does about Bush Jr.
    Whatever you can accuse Bush Jr. of, laying waste to his country, starving his people, killing the productive farmers and having an ugly greedy, mean wife isnt among them. An ANC crowd can turn into a vicious mob at the turn of a hair. Being rational abd discerning is not their thing.

    12
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Adam McCarthy
    Favourite Adam McCarthy
    Report
    Dec 27th 2013, 5:35 PM

    Hurricane Katrina anyone? ;)

    6
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mike Houlihan
    Favourite Mike Houlihan
    Report
    Dec 27th 2013, 9:16 AM

    Sadly, probably the latter.

    21
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute COOM
    Favourite COOM
    Report
    Dec 27th 2013, 11:42 AM

    Problem with Africa is the tribal government system, and the mentality of it’s people.

    15
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Nigel O Keeffe
    Favourite Nigel O Keeffe
    Report
    Dec 27th 2013, 12:04 PM

    @coom
    Same could be said for a lot of countries..including ours!

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute gerbreen
    Favourite gerbreen
    Report
    Dec 27th 2013, 9:37 AM

    Christina who wrote that paper? Dept of the Taoiseach?

    7
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute D Tomás Ó Murchú
    Favourite D Tomás Ó Murchú
    Report
    Dec 27th 2013, 5:26 PM

    While it is true that Robert Mugabe has a few character flaws, it cannot be denied that he is an active leader who stands up for his people. Much better than the shower we have running this country, he is. You can bet Robert Mugabe would have burned the bondholders and sent the IMF home with a flea in their ear.

    7
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mick Jordan.
    Favourite Mick Jordan.
    Report
    Dec 27th 2013, 1:14 PM

    Pity he didn’t have a fatal “accident” here.

    6
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Simon Jester
    Favourite Simon Jester
    Report
    Dec 27th 2013, 8:45 PM

    Proably after totruring them first…Thing is we can elect another incompetant shower to govern us.Mugabe is there forever like a big black blood sucking tick on Zimbabwae.But then thats what happens if you let Marxist gun waving loons loose on a perfectly functioning and producing ,albeit not without is fault state.Turn it into a dictatorship that makes the previous oppression by whomever look like paradise.

    2
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

Leave a comment

 
cancel reply
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds