Romania mass grave bolsters communist-era probe

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) Authorities have confirmed the existence of a mass grave near the site of a former communist labor camp in eastern Romania.

The discovery bolsters the case of investigators seeking genocide charges against the former commander of the labor camp.

Excavators found five skeletons.

A statement from the government's Institute for Investigating the Crimes of Communism said one skeleton's right foot was missing, one had a dislocated spine and another's legs were tied together.

Institute chief Andrei Muraru said the finding revealed "brutality and primitivism in the management of the colony."

The institute wants prosecutors to charge the former Periprava camp commander, Ion Ficior, with genocide for the deaths of 103 political prisoners.

Ficior, now 85, ran the camp from 1958 to 1963. He denies wrongdoing.

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On the Web: www.iiccmer.ro