Corneliu Zelea Codreanu

Following a dispute with historian and politician Nicolae Iorga, Codreanu was prosecuted for "ultraj" and sentenced to six months' imprisonment.

Attribution

Accused

Codreanu was tried for treason and related offences and sentenced to ten years' hard labour. The trial took place under the authoritarian rule of King Carol II and drew strong criticism concerning the fairness of the proceedings.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Accused

While serving his sentence, Codreanu was killed alongside thirteen other Legionnaires during a transfer. The official account of an attempted escape is widely regarded as a cover story for an extrajudicial execution ordered amid royal repression.

State of the evidence

Well documented

Attribution

Protagonist is the victim

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist is the victim

Mihai Stelescu, a former Legionnaire who had become a fierce opponent of Codreanu, was murdered in hospital by ten Legionnaire activists known as the Decemviri, who subsequently mutilated his body.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Institutional responsibility

Members of the Iron Guard assassinated Prime Minister Ion G. Duca following the banning of the movement. Codreanu was arrested and tried alongside several Legionnaire leaders in the case.

State of the evidence

Documented

Course of the proceedings

1. Formally charged — Formal charge before the current outcome

Under Codreanu's leadership, the Legion and subsequently the Iron Guard gained a reputation for political and antisemitic violence: attacks on opponents, property destruction and violence targeting Jews accompanied the movement's growth.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Institutional responsibility

Following an antisemitic campaign and manifesto by the Iron Guard, an activist attempted to kill former minister Constantin Angelescu. Codreanu was arrested and questioned alongside other activists as part of the investigation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Codreanu founded the Legion of the Archangel Michael, a mystical, ultranationalist political movement placing antisemitism, anti-communism, militant discipline and rejection of liberal democracy at the heart of its programme.

State of the evidence

Well documented

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Codreanu shot dead Constantin Manciu, the police prefect of Iași, and injured others during a confrontation. He admitted firing the shot but claimed self-defence; his trial ended in acquittal.

Course of the proceedings

1. Formally charged — Formal charge before the current outcome

Codreanu and several nationalist activists were arrested in connection with a plot to assassinate political leaders and Jewish figures considered opponents of the movement.

State of the evidence

Documented

Codreanu rose to prominence in the nationalist student movement in Iași, participated in antisemitic campaigns and violent clashes. He was expelled from university in 1921 following incidents of assault and vandalism.

State of the evidence

Documented