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Roumanian Gov’t Hits Freeing of Iron Guardists

January 25, 1934
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Members of the Iron Guard and other anti-Semitic organizations taken into custody by the Roumanian authorities in recent weeks for anti-Semitic at tacks and anti-government activities have been freed without trial by judiciary authorities sympathetic to their program, it was revealed today when M. Antonescu, Minister of Justice in the Tatarescu cabinet, in an order to all courts in the country, sharply criticized this practice and insisted that, in the future, proper and legal trials must prevail in all cases, with prison sentences passed on those convicted of violating the law.

Several thousand Iron Guardists were arrested in a nation-wide round-up in the weeks following the assassination of Premier Ion G. Duca by an Iron Guardist student as the new government took determined steps to suppress the antigovernment, anti-Semitic organization. Minister Antonescu revealed that a large number of these men have been quietly freed by the local judicial authorities without even the formality of a trial.

Minister Antonescu demanded that the local authorities cooperate closely with the Ministry of Justice and the military and administrative authorities. He also instructed them to submit a report to the ministry every ten days on what action has been taken in the interval against enemies of the state.

The orders issued by the ministry forbid officials of the state to belong to or sympathize with the extremit parties which include the Iron Guard, Professor Cuza’s party and other anti-Semitic and Nazi groups.

A conference of Roumanian rectors was held here today to devise ways and means of restraining uncontrolled political agitation now rampant in the educational institutions. Pointing out that the universities at present are hotheds of anti-government activity and that students are spending more time on political activites than on studies the rectors stressed the fact that, although the present laws governing the universities are adequate for ensuring internal and external peace in the institutions, nevertheless their effectiveness is entirely dependent upon the degree to which they are enforced.

The university authorities resolved today that strict measures would be taken to supervise and control lecturers in the colleges in order to make certain that they confine themselves to their subjects rather than class-room campaigning. This decison was considered important in view of the fact that the Cuzists and the Iron Guardists recruit theire greatest support in university tow# such as Jassy and Cluj where it # not been uncommon forunive # lecturers to devote their # politics in the lecture halls.

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