Editing Romanian Intelligence Service (section)

==History==

===Previous intelligence services in Romania===
{{Main article|Siguranța|Securitate}}
In 1865, the [[Chief of the Romanian General Staff|Romanian General Staff]] (inspired by the French system) created the 2nd Section (''Secția a II-a'') to gather and analyze [[military intelligence]].<ref name="sri.ro">{{cite web|url=https://www.sri.ro/momente-cheie|title=Momente cheie - Serviciul Român de Informații|website=www.sri.ro|access-date=23 February 2018}}</ref> This marked a  growing interest in centralising intelligence efforts spurring the creation of the General Safety Bureau in 1892 within the Ministry of the Interior with responsibilities pertaining to the safety of the state. However, despite ambitions, the various government entities and associated municipal governance structures were not set up in a way which allowed for national, collective intelligence services. Prior to 1905, Romania’s regional police forces were dependent on the local politics and had no strategic continuity. The [[1907 Romanian peasants' revolt|1907 Peasants' Revolt]] highlighted critical gaps in oversight, specifically in the ability to ascertain with certainty the motives behind the revolt and whether any foreign elements were involved in the events.

In March 1908, the Bureau became the Police and General Safety Directorate. Among its responsibilities of leading judicial and law enforcement matters nationally, it would also occupy itself with gathering intelligence pertaining to events and offences with a political footprint. In a bid to correct the gaps of the past, police infrastructure was reorganised with regional brigades in each municipal capital. Funded centrally and with a focus on gathering information pertaining to the security of state borders, a key distinguishing feature was the complete independence from regional politics thereby ensuring a stable and organised entity. The intelligence gathering responsibilities were shared with the Prefect’s Office of the Capital City Police and General Inspectorate of the Gendarmerie. In parallel with law enforcement developments, select intelligence and counter-intelligence units were being created by the Romanian Army with a remit of both at home and abroad.

Between 1914 and 1918 Romania faced unrest on several fronts including corruption, espionage and a unification war. The impact of recent reorganisation efforts should not be overlooked. The establishment of central entities for gathering, processing and sharing information critical to national security allowed the Romanian State to maintain its integrity in the face of more powerful states in central Europe and uncover German spies, some in positions of power within government and armed forces.

As of 1918, the State of Romania included 3 new provinces which brought their own challenges to national security considerations. New ethnic minority groups, now under the geographic territory of Romania, formed political and revolutionary groups causing further unrest. Simultaneously, there were significant political and social issues emerging in the aftermath of the first world war which would continue to overshadow national security decisions for decades to come. For this reason, national security became wholly focused on domestic issues and lost sight of foreign threats even though, it can be argued that espionage threats were increasing across Europe.

It is critical at this point to highlight that the geographic location of Romania was considered strategically advantageous for political, economic and military interests and coveted for its rich natural resources. For example, German and Anglo competing (and often in conflict) interests in expansion have often played out in Romanian territory. This hidden war gave rise to many espionage operations by France and the United Kingdom. Various publications in the years that followed which boasted of successful agents and their missions prompted the start of a new department of intelligence.

By 1925, after several years of efforts, [[Mihail Moruzov]] managed to convince the General Staff about the necessity of a [[secret service]] that uses civilian employees to gather intelligence of interest to the [[Romanian Land Forces|Romanian Army]].<ref name="sri.ro" /> Information sharing and collaboration across both intelligence and counterintelligence strengthened and included areas of focus such as politics, economy, minorities and counterespionage. The new service would also develop areas of surveillance, in particular of ethnic minority communities.

Moruzov's leadership of the Secret Service occurred during a time of turbulent socio-political developments, including the rise of the Iron Guard, the threat of Communism and the uncertain role of the Monarchy. His activities, which often included gathering compromising information about key political figures, drew the attention of Ion Antonescu who would become Head of State following the abdication and exile of King Carol II. In September 1940, Moruzov was arrested and put on trial. 

Learning from the failings of the Secret Service under Moruzov, Antonescu relaunched the service in 1940 as the Special Service of Intelligence (''Serviciul Special de Informații'') with [[Eugen Cristescu]] as official director. <ref name="sri.ro" /> The new service was under the direct authority of the Head of State thereby severing the influence of the army element however they would continue to collaborate on a more equal footing; it would also be funded by the Ministry of Defence and as such spending would be monitored accordingly. As World War II loomed, the activities of the S.S.I. began to attract negative attention from other elements of government, particularly the Ministry of Justice. 

Though the political independence enjoyed during Moruzov was not wielded in a way which boosted national security, the alternative placed the service under the direct control of the government and would later be used against those who opposed government directives. Antonescu, in assuming power in September 1940 also allowed the Legionary Movement and by extension the Iron Guard access to the highest echelons of power. Further collaboration with German entities such as the Abwehr further galvanised the movement and those who opposed the regime were at increased risk.

Similarly, through the [[Socialist Republic of Romania|communist period]] (1947 to 1989), the service was used as an oppressive instrument against the anti-communists and people who opposed the government's official policies. The ''[[Securitate]]'' ("Security") was the [[political police]] that was involved in repressing [[Dissent in Romania under Nicolae Ceaușescu|dissent]]. During the [[Romanian Revolution]] of December 1989, soon after taking power, [[Ion Iliescu]] signed the decree which integrated the Securitate into the [[Ministry of National Defence (Romania)|Ministry of Defense]], thus bringing it under his control.<ref>[[Monitorul Oficial]], [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monitorul_Oficial_al_României._Partea_I_1989-12-25,_nr._2.pdf Partea I nr. 2] December 25, 1989</ref>

[[Iulian Vlad]], the head of the Securitate, together with some of his deputies, were arrested on December 31, 1989; Iliescu named [[Gelu Voican Voiculescu]] as the new head of the Securitate.<ref name="Mostenitorii">{{cite news |title=Moștenitorii Securității - în primii ani de democrație |author=Marius Oprea |author-link=Marius Oprea |url=http://www.dntb.ro/sfera/arhiva/52/florian.htm |newspaper=Sfera |access-date=16 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313000943/http://www.dntb.ro/sfera/arhiva/52/florian.htm |archive-date=13 March 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Voiculescu assured the Securitate agents that he does not intent to wage a war against individual Securitate officers and, by mid-January 1990, the Securitate officers continued their activity in their old headquarters.<ref name="Mostenitorii"/> The press was informed (but not allowed to verify) that the equipment for tapping phones had been decommissioned.

=== Creation ===
The Romanian Intelligence Service was officially created on March 26, 1990, taking over the buildings, staff, equipment, and virtually everything that belonged to the Securitate.<ref name="Mostenitorii" /> Its creation occurred only a few days following the [[ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureș]], being quickly created through a decree. Its first director was [[Virgil Măgureanu]].<ref name="Mostenitorii" /> At that time, there were two other intelligence services: [[UM 0215]] and the [[Foreign Intelligence Service (Romania)|Foreign Intelligence Service]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.digi24.ro/Stiri/Digi24/Special/1990+-+Anul+0/1990+ANUL+0+ERA+NOASTRA+Cum+a+fost+infiintat+SRI|title=1990 – Anul 0 era noastră. Cum a fost înființat SRI|work=[[Digi24]]|date=26 March 2015 |access-date=2016-07-31}}</ref>

===Securitate archives===
SRI inherited Securitate's archives and it has been accused of destroying parts of it or supplying sensitive parts to certain politicians.

On June 22, 1990, SRI officers unloaded a truck full of Securitate documents in a forest in [[Berevoești]], [[Argeș County]], after which they buried them with soil.<ref name="Mostenitorii"/> The documents intended to be destroyed were discovered by locals and, a year later, a group of journalists began digging the decaying documents and the ''[[România liberă]]'' newspaper published several of them, including information on dissidents, being not only Securitate, but also of the newly created SRI.<ref name="Mostenitorii"/> This led to the adoption of a law on state secrets, which banned publication of any SRI documents.<ref name="Mostenitorii"/>

It was only in 2005 that the archives of the Securitate began to be transferred to an outside institution (CNSAS) with a first batch containing two-thirds of the total number of documents.<ref name="Doua">{{cite news |title=Două treimi din arhivele Securității vor fi transferate la CNSAS |url=http://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-arhiva-1238824-doua-treimi-din-arhivele-securitatii-vor-transferate-cnsas.htm |work=[[HotNews]] |date=March 1, 2005 |access-date=16 April 2013}}</ref> The goal was to transfer all Securitate documents which "do not affect national security".<ref>Romanian Intelligence Service, [http://www.sri.ro/comunicat-de-presa-28.html Comunicat de presă]</ref>

===Involvement in the Mineriad===
{{See also|Mineriad}}
The extent of the involvement of the Romanian Intelligence Service in the violent repression of the [[Golaniad|1990 anti-government protests]] has been a matter of debate. On June 12, 1990, the government decided that the Police and Army, in collaboration with the Intelligence Service, evacuate the protesters of [[University Square, Bucharest|University Square]].<ref name="Miclescu">{{cite news |title=Șaptesprezece ani de la 'mineriada' din iunie 1990 |first=Corneliu |last=Miclescu |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/romanian/news/story/2007/06/070613_mineriada_istoric.shtml |work=[[BBC]] |date=June 13, 2007 |access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref> During the violence that followed, the protesters attacked the headquarters of the Romanian Intelligence Service with rocks and [[Molotov cocktail]]s.<ref name="Miclescu"/>

The following days, miners brought by the government from the [[Jiu Valley]] violently repressed the protesters (killing several people and wounding thousands) and destroyed the opposition parties' headquarters.<ref name="Miclescu"/> According to a letter to President Iliescu drafted by then-Prime Minister [[Petre Roman]], the whole repression was organized by the secret services under the leadership of Virgil Măgureanu using the network of the Securitate.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mineriada din 1990 a fost ORCHESTRATĂ de Virgil Măgureanu. Fostul șef SRI e acuzat în dosar |first=Alexandra |last=Ciliac |url=http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/stenogramele-mineriadei-1042855.html |newspaper=[[Evenimentul Zilei]] |date=June 17, 2013 |access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref> This view is supported by military prosecutor Dan Voinea, who said that all the miner groups were escorted by police and SRI agents who led them to the headquarters of parties and NGOs.<ref>{{cite news |title=Voinea : Mineriada, un act terorist al instituțiilor represive ale statului |first=Cosmin |last=Ruscior |url=http://www.rfi.ro/articol/stiri/politica/voinea-mineriada-un-act-terorist-al-institutiilor-represive-ale-statului |work=[[Radio France Internationale]] |date=June 14, 2010 |access-date=24 July 2013 |archive-date=24 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224165219/http://www.rfi.ro/articol/stiri/politica/voinea-mineriada-un-act-terorist-al-institutiilor-represive-ale-statului |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During the 2000s, [[Virgil Măgureanu]], the head of the SRI at the time, has been investigated by prosecutors (together with other leaders including President [[Ion Iliescu]]) for several counts including [[genocide]] and [[torture]], however they decided in 2009 not to charge him with any crime.<ref>{{cite news |title=Iliescu, iertat definitiv pentru Mineriada |url=http://www.romanialibera.ro/actualitate/eveniment/iliescu-iertat-definitiv-pentru-mineriada-157483.html |newspaper=[[România Liberă]] |date=June 19, 2009 |access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref>

===Phone tapping===
[[File:Detasamentul Brigazii Antiteroriste.jpg|thumb|A Counter-Terrorism Battalion of the SRI on parade in 2008.]]
In 1996, a former SRI employee, Constantin Bucur was the [[whistleblower]] who alerted the media that the Romanian Intelligence Service was performing illegal phone tappings of politicians, journalists and other public figures.<ref name="Bucur">{{cite news |title=Constantin Bucur si Mircea Toma, despagubiti de CEDO, in urma unor interceptari SRI |url=http://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-esential-13965402-constantin-bucur-mircea-toma-despagubiti-cedo-urma-unor-interceptari-sri.htm |work=[[HotNews]] |date=January 8, 2013 |access-date=16 April 2013}}</ref> Bucur was convicted for revealing [[Classified information|top secret]] information,<ref name="Bucur"/> but he won a trial against the Romanian state after appealing at the [[European Court of Human Rights]].<ref name="Bucur"/>

Mircea Toma, one of the journalists whose phone had been tapped also sued the Romanian state for wiretapping and preserving private conversations with his daughter, Sorana. He also won a compensation the disrespect of the [[Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights]].<ref name="Bucur"/> The Romanian Intelligence Service refused to collaborate with the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that its documents are state secrets.<ref name="Apador">[http://www.apador.org/blog/romania-plateste-la-cedo-telefoanele-ascultate-in-tara/ "România plătește la CEDO telefoanele ascultate în țară"], Apador-CH, January 10, 2013</ref>

The president of the Group of Political Investigations (a Romanian organization that independently monitors the activity of state agencies), Mugur Ciuvică, has stated that he has evidence of ongoing illegal phone tappings.<ref>Roportal.ro, [http://www.roportal.ro/stiri/presedintele-gip-mugur-ciuvicasri-spioneaza-pnl-la-ordinul-lui-basescu-934962.htm The GIP President, Mugur Ciuvică: SRI snoops on the National Liberal Party at Băsescu's orders]</ref>

According to Ilie Botoș, a former Attorney General of Romania, between 1991 and 2003, the phones of 20,000 people have been tapped.<ref name="timpanul"/> Between 1991 and 2002, a number of 14,000 authorizations were given by the government for [[national security]]-related issues.<ref name="timpanul"/> Between 1996 and 2003, further 5,500 authorizations were given related to organized and white-collar crime; out of these 5,500 suspects, only 238 were convicted.<ref name="timpanul">{{cite news |title="Timpanul" SRI costă cât bugetul Culturii |url=http://adevarul.ro/news/societate/timpanul-sri-costa-bugetul-culturii-1_50acdc8c7c42d5a6638ac069/index2.html |newspaper=[[Adevărul]] |date=February 15, 2006 |access-date=16 April 2013}}</ref> For the year 2005, a number of 6370 phones belonging to 2373 people were tapped, the average tapping being of 220 days.<ref name="timpanul"/>

In 2006, a new illegal wiretapping scandal erupted after transcripts of businessman [[Dinu Patriciu]]'s phone discussions with his associates were leaked to the press.<ref name="Patriciu">{{cite news |title=ICCJ: Dinu Patriciu va primi 50.000 de lei despagubiri de la SRI, pentru ca i-au fost ascultate ilegal telefoanele  |url=http://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-esential-8314814-iccj-dinu-patriciu-primi-50-000-lei-despagubiri-sri-pentru-fost-ascultate-ilegal-telefoanele.htm |work=[[HotNews]] |date=February 18, 2011 |access-date=16 April 2013}}</ref> Patriciu sued the Intelligence Service and won a compensation of 50,000 lei in 2011.<ref name="Patriciu"/> A further case of potentially illegal wiretappings is the one of European Court of Human Rights judge Corneliu Bîrsan, whose wiretappings under the guise of "national security" are now being investigated by a parliamentary commission created by the Romanian Senate on April 8, 2013.<ref name="hotnews">{{cite news |title=Comisia parlamentara de ancheta privind interceptarea telefoanelor magistratului Birsan - la prima sedinta |url=http://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-politic-14632677-comisia-parlamentara-ancheta-privind-interceptarea-telefoanelor-magistratului-birsan-prima-sedinta-doreste-modificarea-regulamentului-senatului-astfel-incat-prezenta-persoanelor-invitate-obligatorie.htm |work=[[HotNews]] |date=April 16, 2013 |access-date=16 April 2013}}</ref>

===Relationship with the press===
The Romanian Intelligence Service had an uneasy relationship with the press, which it monitored, infiltrated and accused of being a national security liability. In 2010, "the press" has been included in the list of national vulnerabilities in the "National Strategy for the Defence of the Country".<ref name="cata">{{cite news|title=Câteva cazuri de ofițeri acoperiţi din presa românească|url=http://www.catavencii.ro/Cateva-cazuri-de-ofiteri-acoperiti-din-presa-romaneasca_0_5453.html|newspaper=Cațavencii|date=September 5, 2012|access-date=16 April 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320230038/http://www.catavencii.ro/Cateva-cazuri-de-ofiteri-acoperiti-din-presa-romaneasca_0_5453.html|archive-date=20 March 2013}}</ref>

An early controversy occurred in 1996, when Tana Ardeleanu (a journalist for ''[[Ziua]]'' who had published some articles about President [[Ion Iliescu]]) had been [[wikt:shadowing|shadowed]] by SRI agents.<ref name="Băleanu">{{cite book |last=Băleanu |first=Virgil George |title=A Clear and Present Danger to Democracy: The New Romanian Security Services are Still Watching |url=https://fas.org/irp/world/romania/csrc12045.htm |year=1996 |publisher=[[Conflict Studies Research Centre]], [[Royal Military Academy Sandhurst]] }}</ref> Amid press anger, SRI director [[Virgil Măgureanu]] admitted that SRI agents followed Ardeleanu and argued that the surveillance was a "mistake" and that the agents thought they were following two suspected spies.<ref name="Băleanu"/>

The existence of infiltrated SRI agents in the press has been publicly known since 2006, when the press officer of SRI claimed that the Service has always had [[Mole (espionage)|moles]] in the Romanian press arguing that it's not illegal.<ref name="cartitele">{{cite news |title=SRI, ia-ti cartitele din presa! |url=http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/sri-ia-ti-cartitele-din-presa-401699.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130705214150/http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/sri-ia-ti-cartitele-din-presa-401699.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 5, 2013 |newspaper=[[Evenimentul Zilei]] |date=July 25, 2006 |access-date=16 April 2013 }}</ref> This claim has been quite controversial, as, according to [[Cristian Tudor Popescu]], journalists are not a threat to national security<ref name="cartitele"/> and, according to historian [[Marius Oprea]], this leads to suspicions about whether the SRI has [[political police]] activities.<ref name="cartitele"/>

The ''[[Jurnalul Național]]'' newspaper fired its [[editor-in-chief]], Valentin Zaschievici, in August 2012, accusing him of being an infiltrated SRI agent, following the leak of some SRI documents by ''[[Cotidianul]]''.<ref name="Redactor">{{cite news|title=Redactor-șef de la "Jurnalul Național", dat afară pentru colaborare cu SRI |url=http://www.adevarul.ro/financiar/media/Redactor-sef_de_la_-Jurnalul_National-dat_afara_pentru_colaborare_cu_SRI_0_756524549.html |newspaper=[[Adevărul]] |date=August 16, 2012 |access-date=16 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120820025114/http://www.adevarul.ro/financiar/media/Redactor-sef_de_la_-Jurnalul_National-dat_afara_pentru_colaborare_cu_SRI_0_756524549.html |archive-date=August 20, 2012 }}</ref> The Romanian Intelligence Service admitted that the documents were indeed genuine, but it claimed that their agent was only monitoring the leaking of secret documents to the press.<ref name="Redactor"/>

In 2013, [[George Maior]], the Director of the Service, accused the press of organizing an attack campaign against the Romanian Intelligence Service, giving as example the investigations over the illegal CIA prisons in Bucharest ([[Bright Light (CIA)|Bright Light]]), which he argued that is exposing Romania to terrorist attacks.<ref name="Maior">{{cite news |title=George Maior, directorul SRI: presa ne împiedică să ne facem activitatea și ne expune pericolului terorist |url=http://jurnalul.ro/stiri/observator/george-maior-directorul-sri-presa-ne-impiedica-sa-ne-facem-activitatea-si-ne-expune-pericolului-terorist-637458.html |newspaper=[[Jurnalul Național]] |date=February 22, 2013 |access-date=16 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225112757/http://jurnalul.ro/stiri/observator/george-maior-directorul-sri-presa-ne-impiedica-sa-ne-facem-activitatea-si-ne-expune-pericolului-terorist-637458.html |archive-date=25 February 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Known operations===
In March 2005, three Romanian journalists were kidnapped in Iraq by unknown abductors (later described as members of the Muadh ibn Jabal Brigades) in [[Baghdad]]'s [[Mansour district|al-Mansour district]]. A few weeks after being kidnapped, the terrorists broadcast a tape on [[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al-Jazeera]] stating that they would kill the journalists if Romania did not withdraw its 860 troops from Iraq. However, due to efforts of the Romanian intelligence community and the collaboration between several intelligence agencies, the group were freed on May 23, 2005, when they were placed in the hands of the Romanian Embassy in Baghdad. It is believed that {{ill|Florian Coldea|ro}} (the former deputy director of the SRI) coordinated the rescue operation.

On 28 February 2008, the Romanian counter-intelligence officers arrested a [[Bulgaria]]n [[military attaché]], Petar Marinov Zikolov, and a Romanian NCO, Floricel Achim. They have been prosecuted with charges of espionage. It is believed that the leaked information might have been sent to [[Russia]] or [[Ukraine]]. The Bulgarians have denied any connection with Zikolov. This has been one of the few espionage cases that have received media attention.