2024 Slatina protests
| 2024 Slatina Protests | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | 4 June 2024 21:00 (UTC +2) |
| Location | Slatina, Romania |
| Caused by | Death of a 19 year old boy in the Olt River |
| Goals | An in-depth investigation into negligence surrounding the victim's death |
| Methods | Street marches |
| Resulted in | Romanian Police opening a criminal investigation for culpable homicide |
| Casualties | |
| Death(s) | 0 |
| Arrested | 0 |
| Damage | Some Police Cars |
On Tuesday, 4 June 2024, a mass protest took place in the Romanian county of Olt's capital city Slatina protesting the actions of bystanders who they claimed did not try to prevent harm or save a drowning victim and instead blamed the accident on him. They also protested the police department out of fears that they would come to the same conclusion after not doing due diligence to the investigation due to corruption.[1]
Flavius Magraon[edit]
Flavius Magraon was a professional football player playing for CSM Slatina, his local team. He was the top scorer in the 2023–24 season for League 3. He applied to work for the Romanian Police and was preparing for his Baccalaureate. He attended a sports high school.
Accident and death
On 1 June 2024, he was the victim of a jet-ski incident at a party in the Verguleasa commune with his friend, who is 17 years old, His friend was the driver of the jet-ski, and was operating it while intoxicated with alcohol.[2] They used no life vests and both friends fell off the jet-ski when it rolled over. Magraon could not swim, so the 17-year-old friend rescued himself first but was unable to rescue Magraon, who drowned in the Olt River.
There were a total of 20 teenagers by the shore watching this happening, a video of Magraon drowning was recorded by one of the locals near the river.[3] The teens did not help and rescue him. His body was found 100 meters from the site by a group of divers sent by the Police, the corpse was sent to the Slatina Forensic Centre "in order to preform the autopsy". Those who witnessed it called 112.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 2004/2005 | ||
| Place of birth | Slatina, Romania | ||
| Date of death | 1 June 2024 (aged 19) | ||
| Place of death | Olt River, Romania | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| ?–2024 | CSM Slatina | ||
Aftermath[edit]
Magraon was buried at the local chapel and was meant to attend a graduation ceremony. The local police has launched a criminal case for culpable homicide.[4] People went to the high school he attended to pay their respects by lighting candles by the school fence. A few days later, on Tuesday, 4 June, Magraon's friends started a commemoration and protest by marching through the main streets of the city.
One of Magraon's friends condemned the indifference by the 20 bystanders, saying that no one fought for his life while he was still above water and able to be saved, and instead watched as he drowned. Another acquaintance said that she was in a state of shock over how Magraon gave all his strength to live and how no one on the pontoon watching could even bother to throw a life jacket.[2]
Protest and commemoration[edit]
The protest began on 4 June 2024 at 21:00 (UTC+2) when several hundred teens who knew about Magraon or were mobilized by social media announcements attended. They started chants which included, "We want justice", "Fly high captain", "Thieves", "Take to the streets" "Down with Corruption" and "Fuck the police" while marching through the streets in Slatina and in front of the main administrative buildings in the city. The protests coincided with the day Magraon was supposed to graduate from high school, as well as the day his funeral was held.[5]
The protesters asserted that Magraon died due to negligence and lack of safety guidelines at the party, and claimed that Magraon was forced onto a jet-ski driven by someone intoxicated without a vest, falling in the water due to the driver's dangerous maneuvers and recklessly sharp turns.[2] They stated that the protesters left the scene while the divers were called to the scene to look for Magraon.[5] They further claimed that the partygoers tried to accuse Magraon of being the driver and stealing the jet-ski, despite video evidence implying otherwise. They also claimed that the bystanders were using intimidation tactics against Magraon's friends and the police in order to cover up the situation and avoid culpability for their role in the tragedy. The protesters feared that the police would not give due diligence to the case and that they would try to put all the culpability on Magraon for what happened that day instead of investigating.[1]
Investigation[edit]
The Slatina Court have sent a press release on 5 June 2024, the statement has been made by the police:
" Considering the interest shown by media representatives regarding the cause of the accident produced on 1.06.2024 on the Olt River, within the commune of Verguleasa, soldier with the death of a 19-year-old person, the spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office on next to the Slatina Court he is empowered to bring the opinion to the notice publish the following:
On 2.06.2024, the police judicial within the Rural Police Department no. 11 Verguleasa notified ex officio, in respect of the commission of culpable homicide offenses, prev. of art. 192 para. (1) of the C. pen, consisting in the fact that on 1.06.2024 a male person, while walking skyjet on the river Olt fell off him and drowned.
By the ordinance of 2.06.2024, the bodies of judicial police within the Rural Police Department no. 11 Verguleasa au ordered the beginning of the criminal investigation in rem, in terms of committing offenses of:
- culpable homicide, prev. of art. 192 para. (1) of C.pen.;
By the ordinance of 2.06.2024, the bodies of judicial police within the Rural Police Department no. 11 Verguleasa au ordered that the forensic doctors within SML Olt carry out an expertise in question medico-legal ”.[citation needed]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Dosarul morții sportivului din Olt, la Parchet. Prietenii lui Flavius au început o serie de proteste VIDEO". adevarul.ro (in Romanian). 5 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Chiriac, Adriana (5 June 2024). "Detalii cutremurătoare în cazul fotbalistului de 19 ani care s-a înecat în râul Olt: "Putea să fie salvat. Nimeni nu a luptat pentru el"". Radio Impuls (in Romanian). Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Imagini cu ultimele clipe din viața lui Flavius, tânărul de 19 ani înecat în Olt". adevarul.ro (in Romanian). 3 June 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ "Flavius, sportivul care s-a înecat în Olt, a fost condus pe ultimul drum. Liceul a amânat festivitatea de absolvire FOTO". adevarul.ro (in Romanian). 4 June 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Sute de tineri au protestat la Slatina, după decesul lui Flavius, sportivul care s-a înecat în râul Olt. „Vrem dreptate!" VIDEO". adevarul.ro (in Romanian). 4 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.