The Movement for Spiritual Integration

THE MOVEMENT FOR SPIRITUAL INTEGRATION IN THE ABSOLUTE M.I.S.A. Şoseaua Sălaj, nr. 2, bloc 126 A, parter, sector 5 – Bucureşti, Tel./Fax: +40 21 4241442 e-mail [email protected] website www.yogaesoteric.net

ABUSES AGAINST THE MOVEMENT FOR SPIRITUAL INTEGRATION IN THE ABSOLUTE

SUMMARY

1. What is MISA pag. 2

2. Summary of authorities’ actions against MISA starting with March 18th, 2004

pag. 3/4

3. Violations of internal legislation pag. 5/9

4. Violations of fundamental human rights pag. 10

5. Instigating mass-media campaign pag. 11

6. The case of the minor Madalina Dumitru pag.

7. Reports of the Association for the Defence of Human Rights in Romania – the

Helsinki Committee (APADOR-CH) on MISA activity pag. 14/15

8. Conclusions pag. 16 1. WHAT IS MISA

The Movement for the Spiritual Integration in the Absolute (MISA) is a non profit legally established association by Court Decision of 23rd of January, 1990 sentenced by the Law Court of Sector 1, Bucharest, Romania. MISA has a socio-professional, philosophical, educational- experimental character. Its aim is to raise the spiritual level of people through an appropriate training and the dissemination of the ancient knowledge and practices of the science of yoga. Starting with September 1995 the president of MISA is Mr. Nicolae Catrina.

MISA organizes courses of yoga and oriental philosophy. Interdisciplinary information is presented in a modern manner, adjusted to the western mentality. The yoga classes take place weekly, being organized on years of study, and consist of practical exercises as well as detailed presentations of theoretical information, covering the main traditional branches of yoga, together with other esoteric sciences.

At present MISA has more than 35.000 students and supporters both in Romania and abroad, although it has only 22 members as such. It has also established strong relations with more than 20 yoga schools from all over the world (Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, Italy, France, Germany, Holland, United States, Finland, United Kingdom, Greece, Czech Republic, India, etc.). There are hundreds of yoga students testifying about the positive results of practising specific exercises and techniques, there are also documented cases of healing chronic diseases through yoga practice combined with naturist therapies.

For the overall perspective on MISA evolution it is important to know that, as it happened in most communist countries, Ceausescu’s regime suffocated any initiative related to spirituality or moral regeneration. Most yoga teachers and students were imprisoned (Mr. Bivolaru being one of the main targets), and the public was induced the idea that yoga and all other related spiritual areas were dangerous “imported” eastern practices, which affect badly the mind and soul. Some extreme measures were taken; the Transcendental Meditation Movement was banned, as well as yoga practice, even the Psychology Faculty in Bucharest was closed down. As a result, yoga was very little known in Romania after the fall of the communist regime in 1989, and even worse, it had a very strong negative image. As mentalities change difficultly and over a long time, it is now easy for the authorities to use this distorted perception as a ground for a “moral” justification of the continuous breaches of the freedoms of thinking, opinion, and association of yoga students, and to manipulate the people through mass-media in order to start a real “witch hunting”.

However, as the information started to circulate freely after December 1989, and the fundamental liberties and rights were regained, many people become interested in well known eastern disciplines such as yoga, tai chi, ayurveda (traditional Indian medical science), or naturist therapies, and joined MISA classes, in a quest for spiritual and moral regeneration. This explains the significant number of students attending MISA classes, despite the great deal of still existing skepticism and mistrust.

2 2. SUMMARY OF AUTHORITIES’ ACTIONS AGAINST MISA STARTED ON MARCH 18th, 2004

On March 18 the Romanian authorities started an unprecedented aggressive and abusive campaign aiming at discrediting MISA, the yoga school and its students, and Mr. Bivolaru. We denounce this campaign as a serious violation of the fundamental human rights, and we support our statements with facts, official documents, films, as well as with the official position of the Association for the Defense of Human Rights in Romania – the Helsinki Committee. Based on the facts described below we raise some major concerns, all of them already expressed by European Union officials and other international organisations:

a) independence of justice and lack of submission to the political power b) respect of fundamental human rights and freedoms c) banning of social discrimination based philosophycal beliefs d) freedom of mass-media

On March 18th, at around 9 a.m., approximately 300 policemen, gendarmes, and prosecutors broke into 16 locations, private properties of several yoga students and MISA members. In most cases they refused to show the search warrants (or filled them in on location), to explain the reason of their action, or to identify themselves. They broke many windows and all doors, although keys were available, and the persons present there offered to open the doors. The behaviour of gendarms and policemen was brutal and violent although nobody resisted, many people were forced down on the floor (even on broken glass), faced down, with the hands on their heads or handcuffed, partially dressed or even naked (as some were still sleeping, or having a shower, or even using the toilet), kept there for hours with guns pointed on their head and hit with the boots, while being permanently warned that they would be shot if they move or say anything. Nobody was allowed to make a phone call or get a lawyer.

The action was filmed and broadcasted on main TV channels, without protecting people’s image, so the whole country saw them in very humiliating postures, while the reporters were stating those persons were accused of drug dealing, prostitution, and organized crime. These were the main search reasons presented by the mass-media, while in fact the search warrants stated the very ambiguos phrases “informatic data, data related to users, data related to international traffic” (!?!) It is important to mention that none of the investigated persons was subsequently detained or arrested, showing that the search warrants had been issued too easily and without sufficient evidence.

Although not related to the official reasons of the search, the prosecutors took away mobile phones, computers, money, ID’s, jewelery, medicines, books, magazines, video tapes, CD’s, personal documents, passports, badges, even driving licenses. No detailed record of these objects was made, the search was done in many cases without witnesses, the owners are still struggling to get back their own belongings. All these goods were loaded in several trucks while presented to the public opinion as “tones of pornographic materials”.

A number of 78 persons were taken into custody and forced to give statements in conditions of extreme brutality, psychological pressure and intimidation. None of the 78 persons resisted or manifested violence against the authorities, also none was found with guns or drugs. Among the abused persons there were nine foreign citizens, who did not get any translator during the whole search.

Despite the fact that none of the premises belonged to MISA, and most of the persons investigated are NOT members of MISA, but only yoga students, the name of MISA was constantly use, in the

3 attempt of denigrating and compromising it, together with the whole yoga school, in an unprecedented and well orchestrated campaign. During the investigations it was made very clear by the prosecutors and policemen that the main “guilt” of those involved was the fact that they were practising yoga. In spite of all accusations spread by mass media, the official statement of the Prosecutor’s Office, issued on April 15th (doc. no. 105/P/2004), in reply to MISA official request, is that no penal investigation is undertaken against MISA.

The whole action was organized and led by the Prosecutors’ Office pertaining to the Court of Appeal of Bucharest and approved by the President of the First Penal Section of Bucharest Law Court, Judge Lia Savonea.

In spite of this impressive display of forces, after more than one month of searches and investigations, no evidence was shown to support the allegations, and no charge was pressed against any of the persons held. All of them performed drug tests in the days following the searches, and all tests shown no use of drugs, proving therefore the absurdity of such an accusation towards persons known for the purity of their life stile, which excludes alcohol, cigarettes, coffee, meat, and artificial products.

4 3. VIOLATIONS OF INTERNAL LEGISLATION

From the declarations and complaints of these abused persons, although written without proper juridical knowledge, one can derive a number of 15 offenses stipulated in the Romanian Penal Code and in the Penal Procedure Code and committed by the authorities, as follows:

ART. 217 PENAL CODE - DESTRUCTION, referring to ART. 246 PENAL CODE - WHITE- COLLAR CRIME

Consisting in the gendarmes' entrance by force into 16 buildings, at the order of the prosecutors supervising the action, situation in which the doors, the windows and many other goods in the houses were destroyed in all locations, although the persons found there were willing to open or unlock the doors not broken until that moment. Thus, they have violated the provisions of Art. 105 par. 1 P. P. C. and of Art. 104 P. P. C. which states that, before doing the search, the judicial body is obliged to reveal its identity and show the search warrant issued by the judge. The judicial bodies had a defying and threatening attitude towards the persons who asked to be shown the search warrant.

Art. 250 PENAL CODE - ABUSIVE BEHAVIOR Referring to Art. 267 ind 1 PENAL CODE - TORTURE

Consisting of the use of offending words and expressions referring to all persons in the searched locations, and also of brutal treatment and other violent acts that some of these persons had to suffer. People were treated like delinquents, thus being punished for unreal facts, of which they were only suspected of having committed: prostitution, drug consumption, illegal guns possession, facts whose existence even the authorities have eventually withdrawn. Moreover, although these people were treated like delinquents, they were formally interrogated as witnesses at the Prosecutor's Office. All these purposely sufferings and pains were driven by the discriminating fact that these people are yoga practitioners. By pressures and intimidation, the authorities tried to pull out testimonies or information from these persons, and attempted to bring them in a certain psychical state where, unassisted by lawyers, they would declare what the authorities dictated, that is certain aspects incriminating Mr. Gregorian Bivolaru.

 Mrs. Violeta Hoscevaia, a citizen of the Republic of Moldavia, graduated in Pedagogy and Psychology: "I was searched and threatened with fire guns without being told why all these were happening. I was absolutely shocked and scared (...). I have been forced to stand for three hours without water and with heart pains (...). Ever since all this happened to me I do not feel safe anymore as a citizen, both physically and legally."  Doctor Mirela Chiroiu, now psychiatric resident in France and yoga practitioner for 12 years: "I specify that during the search I endured serious psychic tension and even today I feel a state of post-traumatic stress."  Miss Irina Zenovei wrote: "Masked gendarmes were walking around us and I remember the fear and terror I felt when they were passing with their noisy boots close to my nose and face and sometimes they hit my legs, apparently by mistake. I deeply felt terror and dread (...) I was having my menstruation and after this exaggerated abuse (...) I had states of shivering, faint, stress, shock."  Miss Octavia Maria Căpâlnean: "My bracelet hooking the person next to me, I could not move quickly (to lie down with my face to the floor). The Prosecutor that had just arrived on that floor hit me with his foot to lie down faster, using obscene words that I do not remember anymore, as I was in a state of shock and I did not understand what was going on, why they were behaving with us as if we were some dangerous delinquents. In order to intimidate us, every time they passed by they stepped on us, and let on purpose their guns touch different parts of our bodies

5 and especially our heads (...) They were permanently talking obscenely and they threatened us with death: that they would blow out our brains if we move (...) As I refused to reveal my identity in front of the video camera because I did not have any ID with me and as there was no lawyer, the Prosecutor ordered that I should be handcuffed and hang on the lamp (...)"  Miss Domniţa Mihaela Vasile: "I was in my bed sleeping and I was surprised by the strong sounds made by the broken windows, destroyed objects and also by the shouting of the gendarmes threatening: "Hands up! ", "Face to the wall!", "Stay there, don't move!", "I kill you if you make one more step!", "I kill you if you move!" (...) I was dragged out of the room by force, put with the face to the ground, immobilized for one hour (...) When I asked to know why I was treated like this, I heard: "Put your head down and do not make more comments, you bitch! You know very well what you have done!" (...) The violent and obscene language of the gendarmes, and especially of the prosecutor, made me feel sick; I felt my freedom violated (...) Although I requested a humanly behavior, as there was no piece of evidence against me, I was pushed forcefully, thrown to the ground, sequestered for more than 12 hours, without food, with no rest and in tension."  Mrs. Victoria Cutenco: "They broke the door glass, although it was not locked (...) They pushed me to the floor, which was full of pieces of glass; they threatened me and pointed the arms towards me (...) The masked persons forced the girls to enter the room – they were barefoot and could not walk on the pieces of glass – one of the girls was pushed through the broken window of the door, she cried out of pain and fell down on the glass pieces. We were forced to sit on the floor on the pieces of glass."  Miss Nicoleta Roxana Cojocaru: "I saw when one of my colleagues did not lie down immediately she was pushed by one of the gendarmes to the floor. While falling, her head hit the stoned floor and her eye turned blue. There were three persons down on the cold floor and we did not know what was going on because no one told us."  Mr. George Călin Sălăgean: "I heard feet smashing the door, I got out of the room and I shouted to them not to destroy the doors as I had the keys to unlock them. A gendarme came to me and pushed me to the ground by hitting my back head (...) When I asked for a lawyer, two gendarmes came to me and started to beat me, saying that they would kill me if I continued to talk. I went on talking and they started to hit me with their boots on my feet, to slap my head and to jump over me with their boots (...) At one point they grabbed my head and hit it against the floor."

We mention the cases of :

 Mr. George Călin Sălăgean, whose traumatisms were confirmed by the medical certificate A.2/1241/2004 from 19.03.2004;  Miss Anca Claudia Todea with the medical certificate A.2/1253/2004 from 20.03.2004

Art. 193 PENAL CODE - MENACE

The case of:  Mr. Marian Deciu, who was told the following by the gendarme guarding him: "If I close the door and I push you against the wall a little bit (...) I push you a little, then I trip you up and then I report that you wanted to escape and I fire all the load into you, so I shoot you like rabbits!"

Art. 192 par. 2 PENAL CODE - ILLEGAL ENTRY

The case of the house on Turturică str., no. 103, consigned to Mr. Marian Cobuz, where the authorities entered in the same brutal way, without any search warrant.

 Mr. Marian Cobuz writes in his declaration: "I was dragged in the hall of the house, threatened by fire guns; there we were summoned to lie down on the floor and we were bodily searched (...) After one hour of terror, during which I had repeatedly asked for a search warrant, the

6 gendarmes drew back, one of them apologizing and saying that they only checked the access ways."

Art. 208-209 PENAL CODE - AGGRAVATED THEFT AGAINST PRIVATE INTERESTS

Consisting in the fact that:

 Mr. Crie Pierre Gerard, French citizen, was taken: passport serial no. 02 VD 47370 4, professional photos and negatives made in Tibet, India, France and Romania, laptop MACINTOSH, Power Book G4, serial no. QT 24512LN4L, color reversal films, mobile phones: Zapp-Hyundai serial no. K 201014264 and Motorola with SIM serial no. MSN A282BJ33JT, 277 CD-s and other things.  Miss Magda Ştefănescu was taken from the house on Peleaga str., no. 5, birth certificate and labour book, both in original, clothes, make-up, travel documents, and other goods of personal use. None of the above objects is mentioned in the search report.  Mr. Costin Corneliu V. Neacşu was taken from the house on Peleaga str. no. 5, in his absence, ID card (GT 826487) released by the Piteşti Police, army record, driving license, IDs, personal photos, money, keys, birth certificate, audio cassettes, CD-s, and a briefcase containing money, documents, a photo camera, a mobile phone, and a business agenda.  Mr. Marian Ilie was taken keys, wallet, money, and plants needed for a naturist cure.  Miss Veronica Daniela Dreptate was taken away a laptop HP, an MP3 player, IDs, 140 Euro.  Mss Liliana Motocel was taken: IDs, 210 Euro, gold jewelry, photo cameras.

Art. 211 PENAL CODE - ROBBERY

The cases in which by means of violence and fire guns threat, persons passing on that street, thus not being concerned by any search warrant, were deprived of their personal goods. Those goods were illegally appropriated by the judicial bodies without being mentioned in any record. These facts have been committed against Mr. Constantin Tănase, Marius Monete, Dunăre Haralambie Dănuţ, and Camelia Beatrice Pelin.

For example:

 Mr. Constantin Tănase states: "I was driving my personal car when I was stopped by armed gendarmes, I was identified and grabbed by force, threatened by fire guns, without any explanation, and forced into the house on Veseliei str., no. 64, where three gendarmes stole my personal objects: 2 mobile phones, a camera, a digital camera, a pocket mini-computer PALM M 505, a Connex SIM card, etc.; these goods have not been mentioned in any record."  Mr. Dănuţ Dunăre: "I was in a car on Veseliei str. when the gendarmes surrounded us and forced us in the house no. 64 (...) I was pushed and brutalized; my mobile phone was taken away from me."  Miss Beatrice Camelia Pelin: "While driving on Veseliei str., I was pulled over, taken by force out of the car, being threatened by fire guns (...) I was abusively searched, without being shown any search warrant and without being told why I was confined. They stole my camera, my mobile phone… and my papers."

Art. 266 paragraph 1 PENAL CODE - ILLEGAL ARRESTMENT AND ABUSIVE SEARCH

Although all the persons taken by force to the Prosecutor's Office were interrogated as witnesses, they were confined against their will and kept for 14-18 hours in order to give statements about their intimate life, about the relationship they have with Mr. Gregorian Bivolaru and about their religious and philosophical beliefs.

All these offenses were committed against all the persons taken during the searches, some of them

7 being the victims of specific penal acts, such as:

Art. 105 par. 2 P. P. C. has been flagrantly violated since goods and personal belongings were taken although they had nothing to do with the search (money, watches, perfumes, jewelry, books, etc.), thus exceeding the prerogatives of the search warrant. In some cases, which will be presented in detail, these goods have not been mentioned in the official search reports, aspect that comprises the constitutive elements stipulated by :

Art. 196 PENAL CODE - DISCLOSURE OF THE PROFESSIONAL SECRET

Consisting in the fact that the authorities, by disclosing without authorisation the shootings made during their search, have severely prejudiced the social image of these persons. The images presenting the filmed persons pictured them like dangerous criminals, in very humiliating postures.

 Miss Irina Zenovei: "The Prosecutor said: "All that we film here will not be shown on TV; this represents hard evidence for the Prosecutor's Office."(...) The authorization to show these tendentious images, thus violating the stipulations of art. 105 par. 3 P. P. C., that is the broadcasting of the video cassettes with the filmed search, in which there were images with me in humiliating positions, is an offense against my image, directly suggesting that I had committed an offense. Thus, the TV channels PRO TV, ANTENA 1 and TVR showed images that are an offense against my personal dignity, without asking for my permission to present these images."

Art. 247 PENAL CODE - WHITE-COLLAR CRIME BY RESTRICTING CERTAIN RIGHTS

Consisting of the fact that the prosecutors prevented the persons from establishing contact with a lawyer or a family member; all their mobile phones were confiscated and when the persons repeatedly asked: "why do all these things happen?", they were answered that this happened because they were yoga practitioners. De facto, all these raids were targeted only at the yoga school followers.

 Miss Ana-Maria Pănescu: "After they knew us better, the gendarmes even showed us sympathy and advised us to give up the Yoga course so that we do not encounter any further problems in the future."

Art. 261 PENAL CODE – OBSTRUCTION FROM ATTENDING A TRIAL

In the next stage of the investigation, the hearings made at the Prosecutor's Office of the Bucharest Appeal Court, the lawyers were banned the access to the interrogated persons! The lawyers have been violently threw out; thus the authorities violated the right to defense of the so-called injured party, minor Mădălina Dumitru, a right guaranteed both by Art. 6 P. P. C. and by the Romanian Constitution.

Art. 261 par. 1 corroborated with Art. 266, par. 3 PENAL CODE - ATTEMPT TO DETERMINE PERJURY. ABUSIVE SEARCH

The investigators did not disclose their identity, but they could easily be identified by the persons interrogated. During the hearings, the authorities used menaces and behaved violently in order to obtain the declarations they wanted.

In their attempt to obtain forced declarations against Mr. Gregorian Bivolaru, they also made use of pressure, coercion and intimidation. In order to force them make written declarations, the prosecutors categorically refused the interrogated the legal right to conselling. They even

8 made threats such as: "If you insist in asking for a lawyer, I'll put you to jail!" (Mr. Nicolae Vârbănescu's statement).

 We quote the statement of Mr. Ilie Marian: "We were taken to the Prosecutor's Office under escort, like delinquents, confined until 1-2 o'clock a.m., when another prosecutor took us and, using various threatening methods – either subtle or violent – forced me to give statements that were convenient only to them. They wouldn't allow us to bring a lawyer, although the lawyer was in the same building with us. When I refused to give a statement, they threatened me very impulsively. They used all kinds of intimidation tactics in order to make me write it, under pressure and violent threats against myself and my family: "You, don't you want to see your wife and children anymore?”

This “teamwork” between the Government, the Secret Services, Police, the judiciary system and part of the mass media led to the complicity in committing the offense stated by:

Art. 324 PENAL CODE - PUBLIC INSTIGATION AND JUSTIFICATION OF OFFENSES

Several people were victims of public instigation, they are now discounted by friends or society, threw out of their homes by their parents, or fired from their jobs. Many others are terrified that they may lose their jobs, the esteem and the respect of relatives and friends, if it will found out that they are yoga practitioners, knowing that already some of their colleagues are publicly despised and abused.

As part of public instigation and intimidating actions, Bogdan Drăghici, President of the National Federation of the Civil Servants, stated in the newspaper “Ziarul” on March 31st 2004 that they work at country level to identify all the civil servants practicing yoga, and to issue a list to be handed to the press, pretending all these people are corrupt, as they covered crimes of other yoga practitioners in exchange of money or sexual favors. And this without having evidence, and without a single example! Fact is that these accusations are based exclusively on the discriminating criterion of one's religious belief: according to Mr. Drăghici, to be a yogi means to be a delinquent.

In addition to all the facts described so far, what the authorities are currently doing is trying to cover the serious abuses committed on March 18th-19th, by desperately attempting to justify the issuance of vaguely formulated search warrants, and especially some warrants for phone communications interception. According to the Penal Procedure Code, the phone interception warrants are granted only for very serious crimes: drug dealing, weapons dealing, traffic with human beings, money laundering – all of them charged against MISA members and yoga practitioners, with no support or evidence.

However, the Prosecutor's Office perseveres in its attempt to incriminate innocent people of offenses that would justify all these abuses. They continue pressuring female yoga practitioners from all over the country, especially those who are underage, with questions concerning their private life and in particular about sexual relations with Gregorian Bivolaru.

9 4. VIOLATIONS OF FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS

The action of the Romanian authorities represents a flagrant violation not only of the laws in force (the Romanian Constitution, the Penal Code and the Penal Procedure Code), but also of the fundamental human rights and liberties defended by the Romanian laws, as well as by all the international organizations and treaties to which Romania is a part.

Romanian Constitution, 2003

 Art. 23 – individual freedom, presumption of innocence  Art. 26 – protection of own’s private life  Art. 29 – freedom of consciousness  Art. 30 – freedom of expression  Art. 40 – freedom of association

European Convention on Human Rights, 1950

 Art. 3 – banning of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment  Art. 5 – right to freedom and security  Art. 6 – right to a fair trial  Art. 8 – right to protect one’s private life  Art. 9 – freedom of thinking, counsciousness and religion  Art. 10 – freedom of expression and opinion  Art. 11 – freedom of gatherings  Art. 14 – banning of discrimination

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

 Art. 3 – right to freedom and security  Art. 5 – banning of torture, cruelty, inhuman and degrading treatment  Art. 9 – banning of arbitrary detention or arrestment  Art. 11.1 – presumption of innocence  Art 12 – banning of illegal intrusion on one’s private life  Art. 13.2 – freedom to leave one’s country  Art. 17.2 – protection of individual property  Art. 18 – freedom of thinking, consciousness and religion  Art. 19 – freedom of opinion  Art. 20.2 – freedom of association

10 5. INSTIGATING MASS-MEDIA CAMPAIGN

Mass media were also used in order to support this scenario, elaborated jointly by the Secret Service (SRI), U.M. 0962, the Prosecutor's Office, and the Gendarmerie, acting by order of the highest political level, namely Adrian Nastase. For several weeks the mass media, on its turn “intoxicated” with false information and statements, leading to a long list of ridiculous accusations (drug abuse and drug dealing, prostitution, organized crime, guns possesion, paramilitary activities, separation by force of yoga students from their families, etc.) instigated the population against the yoga practitioners. The news reports and the reporters’ comments were extremely biased and in many occasions injurious, speculating people’s hunger for sensational stories and their insufficient knowledge about the yoga system in general and our yoga school in particular. The films were set in a tendentious manner, together with unrelated data and images, in order to induce to the audience the idea of guilt and illegal activities. The positive statements were hardly allowed, while thousands of yoga practitioners were threatened and persecuted as a result of violent mass media campaigns.

It is fair though to acknoledge that after the first two weeks many newspapers started to admit that the accusations were not supported by hard evidence, they were victims of political manipulations, and the whole affair was meant to distract people’s attention from the real problems of Romania (corruption at highest levels of administration and justice, poverty, social injustice) in an election year, only 2 months before the local elections in June.

A natural question arises: where does all this servile attitude of the press, and especially TV channels, come from? The answer is simple: most TV stations belong to important Government leaders and to their friends (PRIMA, B1, REALITATEA, ANTENA 1), or are directly controlled by them (TVR 1 and TVR 2), and even those usually opposing the political power (PRO TV) benefited from the governors' “clemency” through writing off millions of dollars worth of debts towards the state budget. Under these circumstances of “friendship” and blackmail, no wonder that the objectivity of the Romanian mass media leaves much to be desired, having become now a tool in the hands of the political power.

Both the Romanian legislation and the deontological code of journalism were violated by consistently broadcasting on main TV channels the images recorded by police during searches:

 right to one’s own image (art. 12, Decision 80/2002 of National Broadcasting Council)  obligation of mass media to correctly inform the audience (art. 31 of Romanian Constitution, art. 3 of Broadcasting Law 504/2002  supporting the accusing statements, or at least indication of supporting evidence (art. 1, Decision 80/2002)  presumption of innocence (art. 5, Decision 80/2002, art. 23 of Romanian Constitution)  obligation to request one’s agreement for sharing materials concerning the person (art. 4 and 11, Decision 80/2002)

Overall, the consequences of authorities’ abuses combined with mass-media’s unprofessional approach are in many cases dramatic, many yoga students from all over the country being persecuted and discriminated every day at work, their jobs and careers are threatened, their families reject and avoid them, and all this happens solely because they embraced the yoga practice.

11 6. THE CASE OF THE MINOR MADALINA DUMITRU

Among the authorities’ abuses in MISA case, one is extremely impressing through its unprecedented gravity: the inhuman and degrading treatment endured by Madalina Dumitru, 17 years old. Although only a witness in the trial started against Gregorian Bivolaru, the minor, detained on March 18th during the searches at the location she lived, was treated like a criminal. She was deprived of freedom for 13 hours, threatened with a gun, physically and mentally tortured, questionned for 3 hours during the night; she became a victim of the authorities attempt to set up a criminal investigation against the MISA mentor. Although she requested the assistance of her chosen lawyer, she was absolutely denied this right, and was menaced to be imprisoned unless signing the statement as written by the prosecutor.

The very next day she withdrew her initial statement and raised a complaint against the abusive behaviour of the prosecutor; the revised statement was simply ignored, while the complaint has not been answered so far.

On April 1st 2004 she appeared at the Court of Appeal in order to reinforce her revised statement, instead she was taken by force to the Forensic Medical Institute for a gynecological examination, despite her resistance. The minor was permanently surrounded by gendarms and police men, she was separated from her lawyer and her fiance, without being allowed to contact them for several days.

The fact the authorities did not act from moral and humanitarian reasons is proven by the outrageous action of handing to the press her manuscript, allowing her sexual fantasies to be publicly exposed. This created even deeper traumas for a harassed teenager, supposed to be a victim, and not a criminal.

We face in this case a serious violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms, which demands a special approach from the international organization, both those concerned with human rights, and those involved in child protection.

Constitution of Romania, 2003

 art. 22 – right to physical and psychical integrity  art. 23 – individual freedom  art. 24 – right to be assisted by a lawyer  art. 25 – freedom to circulate  art. 26 – right to intimate, private and family life  art. 29 – freedom of counsciousness  art. 30 – freedom of expression  art. 32 – access to education  art. 40 – freedom of association

Family code

 freedom to get married after the age of 16, intention that Madalina and her fiance publicly expressed in several instances

European Convention on Human Rights, 1950

 art. 3 – banning of torture  Art. 5 – right to freedom and security

12  Art. 8 – protection of own’ private and family life  Art. 9 – freedom of thinking, consciousness and religion  Art. 10 – freedom of expression  Art. 11 – freedom of association  art. 12 – freedom to get married at legal age

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

 Art. 3 – right to freedom and security  Art. 5 – banning of torture, cruelty, inhuman and degrading treatment  Art. 9 – banning of arbitrary detention or arrestment  Art. 11.1 – presumption of innocence  Art 12 – banning of illegal intrusion on one’s private life  Art. 13.1 – freedom of circulation  Art. 16.1 - freedom to get married at legal age  Art. 17.2 – protection of individual property  Art. 18 – freedom of thinking, consciousness and religion  Art. 19 – freedom of opinion  Art. 20.2 – freedom of association

13 7. REPORTS OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEFENSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN ROMANIA – THE HELSINKI COMMITTEE (APADOR - CH) ON MISA ACTIVITY

Throughout the last 14 years there have been many press campaigns aiming at denigrating and discrediting our yoga school and MISA. The yoga practices and the Movement’s mentors were constantly attacked, ridiculised, defamed, their public image being seriously damaged.

In this context it is important to underline that APADOR - CH was notified periodically since 1996. They issued, after having performed their own investigations, reports regarding MISA where they expressed their concern for the repeated persecutions and abuses suffered by the Movement and its members. They also stated that “nothing in the activity of the MISA members conflicts with the law and justifies the campaign against them.”

Excerpts from the APADOR-CH report: a) Press campaign and the repression of MISA members The press campaign against MISA and the yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru started in 1990 and reached its peak in 1995. Romania Libera, Jurnalul National, Ziua, Academia Catavencu etc continued to publish slanderous articles about MISA in 1996. MISA lodged complaints against several journalists that they accused of libel. The fact that in several cases the journalists were punished (Corneliu Reu from Tinerama and Cristian Negureanu from Romania Libera were fined in 1995) gave the impression that the hostility focused against this group is kept under control by state institutions under these circumstances. This was one of the reasons APADOR-CH had not taken any steps regarding MISA status in the past. For the first time, in 1996, state authorities intervened in their turn against MISA. On June 17, 1996, around 11 p.m., a group of several dozens police officers stormed into the gym of Bucharest Polytechnic Institute where approximately150 persons were taking part in a Yoga session. They asked for the participants’ identity papers and started questionning them in a menacing manner. About 20 persons who did not have any identification on them were taken to the police station. At a certain point, a police officer tried to seize a video camera used by a yoga student who was filming what was happening in the room. Two other students Camelia Rosu and Carmen Efta, tried to interpose between their colleague and the police officer. Two other police officers started hitting them and injured them. Their medical certificates bear witness to this injury. Camelia Rosu and Carmen Efta lodged complaints with the General Prosecutor’s Office but these complaints had not yet been considered at the end of 1996. b) The position of APADOR-CH In August 1996, APADOR-CH conducted an investigation in the Costineşti camp where MISA members gather every year. For two days, the APADOR-CH representatives watched the group to see whether the allegations relating to the fact that this association disturbs public peace and order and acts against good morals are founded. The MISA gatherings took place under civilized conditions. Nothing in the activity of MISA members ran counter the law, which makes the campaign launched against them unjustified. In their interviews, MISA leaders contested the information disseminated in the media and backed their statements with reliable data. They also confirmed the declarations made by the two students molested by the police interviewed by APADOR –CH. In 1996 APADOR-CH started investigating the reasons for which various newspapers published articles against MISA but, in order to define its position in connection with this situation so as to be

14 able to put an end to this campaign against freedom of conscience, the association’ activities will continue in 1997. In the report in 1997, APADOR-CH continues: “Ever since its appearance in 1990, the Movement for Spiritual Integration in the Absolute was the target of many slanders and defamation through the media. In 1996, to these attacks were added some interventions of the public authorities, resulting in the refusal of renting sport halls and even in the aggressions on some members. APADOR-CH took position against violating the freedom of consciousness of MISA members and brought this to the knowledge of the public opinion and authorities. In 1997 the press campaigns against MISA continued, tens of defaming materials being published in the majority of newspapers. To these were added some audiovisual broadcasts. The APADOR-CH representative attended to the yoga courses in the hall of Steaua Club, on March, confirming thus the falseness of the articles regarding the content of these courses. During these investigations, the representative of APADOR-CH met some situations when, due to the pressures made by some journalists and authorities, the leadership of some institutions withdrew the approval for using the sport halls - on the base of a contract - necessary to the MISA students. Thus, on March 9, 1997, 20.00 hours, when the group of students came to the Electrical Machines Enterprise of Bucharest for the yoga session, the gatekeeper announced them that this is not possible anymore because there was an order in this regard. MISA also complained about some actions for intimidating its members - like breaking in force of the policemen of 18th precinct to one of the MISA centers, on March 10, 1997, 7:00 hours, together with an anti-terrorist squad when they used handcuffs for immobilizing the persons in the centre. In 1997, MISA informal leader, Gregorian Bivolaru, was periodically summoned to the police to give various statements regarding his activity.” Moreover, in the APADOR-CH report of March 1998, (Romania – A summary of human rights concerns) – report issued for the European Council (and registered with the number AI, Index EUR\39\06\98) there is a detailed description of the discriminations to which our association was subject, with concrete examples of abuses and police violence. In this regard, the organizations defending the human rights, such as Amnesty International - in the report on March, 1998 or APADOR-CH came to the same conclusion: in the case of our association the human rights were repeatedly and seriously violated.

In this regard, the 1996 APADOR-CH report offers the following relevant data about the “Movement for the Spiritual Integration in the Absolute” (MISA):

“ The actions started against an organization whose member practice Yoga, “The Movement for Spiritual Integration with the Absolute” (MISA) and against one of its leaders, Gregorian Bivolaru, continued in 1996. This campaign placed all the movements and associations with Asian filiation in a delicate position.”

15 8. CONCLUSIONS

The brutal and unjustified searches performed on March 18th 2004 in Bucharest, involving over 300 gendarms, police men, and prosecutors, are another step in a long series of abusive and discriminating actions against MISA and its yoga school. Although repressive actions and calumnious campaign have taken place previously in Bucharest and other cities, the intervention of the Prosecutor’s Office, Gendarmerie, and Romanian Secret Service has never reached such proportions. Despite this, the Prosecutor’s Office officially states that they undertake no investigation on MISA, leaving us with no justification for the massive forces displayed.This is the most significant violation of human rights since 1989 Revolution, unacceptable for a democratic country aiming to join the EU in 2007, and striving to adjust its judicial system to the EU standards.

Mass-media was dragged in the calumnious campaigns against MISA, by using without discernment the “data” offered by the authorities. The journalists’ deontological code was seriously broken, proving one more time that in Romania mass media is not really independent, but economically and politically subordinated.

During the home searches and the further investigations, the State authorities seriously violated fundamental human rights and freedoms. The treatment against the minor Madalina Dumitru is of extreme gravity, especially the handing of her manuscript to the press, which may have serious repercussions on her future professional and social status. MISA, the yoga practitioners and Mr. Bivolaru himself are consistently discriminated and persecuted simply for their ideas and beliefs.

Given that MISA and the yoga practitioners are harassed and persecuted by the very same people expected to protect human rights and freedoms, we strongly request the support of the international community, of organizations defending human rights, in putting an end to these abuses and violations, in abolishing the discrimination based on one’s opinions and beliefs, and in making justice according to the principles valid and enforced throughout the European Union.