Romania’s education minister, Ecaterina Andronescu, has been sacked over “deeply wrong” comments she made about a kidnapping case.
Prime Minister Viorica Dancila wrote on Facebook that Andronescu’s statements were “irresponsible”, “showed a lack of understanding” and “did not reflect the government’s position”.
Andronescu had said that Alexandra Macesanu, 15, who was abducted, sexually abused and eventually killed, “should have known not to get into strangers’ cars”.
Macesanu went missing on July 24 as she was hitchhiking back home near the southern city of Caracal.
The authorities’ handling of her disappearance — and that of another 18-year-old girl last seen in April — has sparked national outrage after it emerged that she had called the European emergency number three times throughout her ordeal.
Authorities took 19 hours to locate her and secure unnecessary search warrants.
A 65-year-old mechanic, Georghe Dinca, admitted killing the two teenage girls, his lawyer announced last Sunday.
The scandal has already led to the resignation of the Interior Minister and the sacking of the country’s police chief with President Klaus Iohannis telling reporters earlier this week that an inquiry presented at a Supreme Defence Council had identified several “grave deficiencies”.
Macesanu’s uncle, Alexandru Cumpanasu, who has been acting as the family’s spokesperson, said late on Friday that DNA tests carried out on bone fragments had confirmed Macesanu is dead.
The directorate for the investigation of organized crime and terrorism (DIICOT), said in a statement on Saturday that “lab tests of samples…revealed the genetic profile of a single person, respectively Alexandra Macesanu, scientifically based on the comparison of this genetic profile with Alexandra’s parents’ DNA.”
