Iron Guard Leader Sentenced for Slander; Denies Plot Against Government

Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, leader of the pro-Fascist Iron Guard, was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and a 2,000-lei ($15) fine by a court martial here today on charges he slandered ex-Minister of State Nicholas Iorga.

The slander charge lodged against Codreanu by Iorga was based on a letter written by the Fascist leader to the Former Minister. The plaintiff denounced Codreanu when the letter was received last March 29, and reminded the iron Guard leader of the “blood that has been shed” through the terroristic activities of his group.

Codreanu denied charges that he was plotting against the Government and King Carol and declared that documents incriminating his organization were forgeries. He declared that he never intended to slander or attack the former minister in letters he had sent him, but had merely reminded him that his declarations as a Minister of State were in direct contradiction to anti-Semitic statements he made before he assumed office.

Authorities disclosed today that approximately 250 followers of Codreanu were lodged in various prisons throughout the country. One hundred of them are accused of illegal possession of arms and the others are charged with possession or distribution of subversive literature.

The weekend round-up that resulted in the arrest of Codreanu and the 250 of his followers today appeared to have been carried out mainly to gauge the true strength of the proscribed Iron Guard.

Prosecutions will be launched only against the few who are known to have committed serious crimes. A conspiracy against the State reportedly revealed in some documents seized by the police had not advanced far enough for the conspirators to be tried. The Government now is convinced that it has made it impossible for the movement’s leaders to carry on subversive activities, and may now be expected to let the abortive plot be forgotten.