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03. 11. 10. - 18:00

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03. 11. 10. - 18:00

DNA tests prove Romanian dictator and wife did die by execution

DNA tests have confirmed that former Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were shot to death by firing squad and buried in a local cemetery.

In recent years claims by diehard Romanian communists that the pair had escaped to a new life abroad and that anonymous bodies had been put in their graves have been gaining popularity.

But at the request of his only surviving child – their son Valentin Ceausescu, and the couple's son-in-law, Mircea Oprean, authorities agreed to open the grave to do a DNA test.

And now experts who tested the DNA of the two bodies have confirmed that the two bodies in the graves at the Ghencea civil cemetery were indeed the dictator and his wife.

The two were exhumed in July and initial forensic tests indicated the bodies probably were genuine because of the bullet holes in the fur hat and trousers. The couple were originally executed by firing squad on 25 December 1989.

The dictator's family said they intended to bury the pair again shortly – this time together in a family tomb.

Elena Ceausescu's last words, after a judge sentenced them to death by execution during a lightning trial were: "We lived together, we will die together."

Mircea Oprean said: "We do not believe the rumours that they are still alive but we wanted to check whether the bodies buried here were theirs."

Although widely unpopular during their rule the couple have now enjoyed a renaissance in popularity in death as the country suffers widespread poverty and hardship. Recently all government salaries for example were cut by 25 per cent.

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