The first day of the trial of Zelea Codreanu, anti-Semitic agitator, who is charged with inciting to riot and murder, passed quietly enough. The court, under the chairmanship of Judge Minculescu, a severe and straightforward jurist, adjourned until tomorrow after sitting all day. M. Stanescu is the prosecuting attorney. The court room was closed to the public, twenty gendarmes guarding all the entrances. There were a few students present and two lawyers, Mora and Ionescu, counsel for Codreanu.
The prosecuting attorney charged Codreanu with praising Georg Beza’s attempt to kill Dr. Constantin Angelescu and with inciting to murder. Codreanu’s attorney raised a technical question that the court was incompetent to try his client because there was no jury. He also denied that Codreanu had praised the attempt to murder Dr. Angelescu, saying that the anti-Semitic leader had only praised Beza.
Outside of the court room things were quiet, too, no additional military force being noticeable in the streets of Bucharest. In the provinces, however, the agitation was noticeably stronger. In Focsani thousands of leaflets with the motto, “Direct your eyes and heart towards Vacareshti,” were distributed. Vacareshti is the name of the prison where Codreanu is being held.
The literature was on display in the students’ houses but the secret police took measures to prevent its distribution in the streets.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
