Polish Authorities Said Dead Romanian Citizen Was Three Times Felon

The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Claudiu Crulic, accompanied by a Romanian woman, Lica Tomescu, was charged with theft in November 2007, for stealing the wallet of a Polish citizen.

Crulic rejected the accusations brought against him and, as protest, refused to eat. The Embassy had not been notified by polish authorities on the latter aspect, the Ministry said.

After the notification on Crulic’s arrest and the initiation of criminal investigations, the Romanian Embassy called on Polish legal authorities to apply fair treatment. The diplomats talked to prison management and the trial prosecutor, within their jurisdiction, "to express the attention that the Romanian Embassy grants this case and the interest in the observance of rights for the person arrested.”

Talks revealed that the inmate was in good mental and physical condition and that all his right had been observed, as he received counseling and a translator, according to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The prison warden told Romanian diplomats that Crulic had previously been incarcerated three times for crimes in Poland.

"Before being arrested for the last crime, he was under investigation, for previous crimes (theft). The Romanian citizen rejected all charges," said the press release issued by the Ministry.

Mid-January, the Cracow penitentiary informed the Romanian Embassy that Crulic was released from custody, on January 17, in accordance with a court decision. The penitentiary did not supply further details.

On January 21, Crulic’s death was notified, through a mailed letter that arrived on Fabruary 1, to the honorary Romanian consul in Katowice.

In its turn, the Embassy informed the family on the death. "His mother, who works in Italy, went to Cracow and, together with the Embassy, filled in the formalities needed to bring the body back to the country," the press release states.

Crulic died, according to the letter sent by the hospital, because of irreversible metabolic disturbance caused by prolonged hunger. Despite attempts, doctors could not rescue the patient. The direct cause of death was respiratory failure, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which adds that the body was brought back to the country on February 6.

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