Four Israeli tourists were beaten by Romanian security forces during the anti-government rally that was held in the country's capital of Bucharest on Friday, although they did not even participate in it, the Embassy of Israel in Romania said on Monday.
CHISINAU (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2018) Four Israeli tourists were beaten by Romanian security forces during the anti-government rally that was held in the country's capital of Bucharest on Friday, although they did not even participate in it, the Embassy of Israel in Romania said on Monday.
"On Friday night, four innocent Israeli tourists were very close to the area where a riot was underway, they were traveling from their hotel to a ... restaurant by taxi. They were stopped and pulled out of the car although they showed their foreign passports and explained that they had nothing to do with what was going on, then the law enforcement representatives beat them," the embassy said in a statement.
The embassy qualified the incident as "unacceptable and extremely grave."
"Israeli tourists who suffered due to the violent actions will lodge complaints," the statement read.
On Friday and Saturday, mass anti-government protests were held in Bucharest, with the Friday's rally leaving 450 people injured. Romanian Prosecutor's Office reported that around 30 protesters had lodged complaints, as the police used water cannons and sprayed tear gas into the crowd. A number of journalists reported outbreaks of violence against them.
On Saturday, Romanian President Klaus blamed the security forces for the violence, and called on the country's prosecution to investigate the matter.
The protesters were demanding parliament dissolution, a snap election, and an establishment of a unicameral parliament with 300 senators, including 100 representatives of the Romanian diaspora. They were also voicing their dissatisfaction with the country's tax and pension systems, calling for economics, agriculture and business development, as well as for promoting cooperation with the European Union and NATO.
