Episode 17 – Four Days of Breaking Fake News with Râul Alb

At the Haţeg Police headquarters, the media lynching against us was running on a television set placed in the institution’s hallway. Prosecutor Herban’s hearings lasted until the dawn of Monday, 25 May 2015, but the “eco” aggressors were allowed to go home a little after midnight. Satisfied with the prosecutor’s decision, the perpetrator of the attempted murder made an obscene gesture with his finger in the direction of our witnesses, who were still held for hearings. Also before the hearings ended, Păun Gabriel went from the Police directly to a television station where his footage was being broadcast. There followed four days of Breaking Fake News with Râul Alb, in which I was publicly executed (video 17.1).

On the morning of 25.05.2015, Păun Gabriel gave this televised interview in which he mendaciously presented the events at Râul Alb, miming confusion, even though he had seen and re-seen everything that happened in those moments: “Two cars came with some giants and they began to beat us instantly, without warning, without question, to tell us who they are, to ask us who we are and what we are doing there, directly fists and feet. They applied to me a very strong blow from the beginning, a fist to the head, I fell to the ground”. The public had to be prepared, through lies broadcast aggressively and insistently, to see in Păun Gabriel a victim. It is no wonder that the flagrant discrepancy between what he was saying and how the “defender of nature” looked physically passed unnoticed. The forensic medical expertises were to confirm that Păun Gabriel lied about the physical traumas suffered as well. The forensic doctors reduced the number of days of medical care from 17-18 days to 7-8 days. This was happening at the moment when there was enormous media and institutional pressure, which suggested the idea that the “young environmentalists” are victims, even though I was the one agonizing between life and death on the bed of a hospital in Cluj, and the doctors were suggesting to my wife that she should come to terms with the idea that our children would live without a father.

“The Thief Shouts – Thieves!”

Bogdan Todoran, Păun Gabriel’s lawyer and the president of the NGO “Nostra Silva,” went live on a television station and commented on the footage of the attempted murder, footage that he possessed, but had not handed over to the prosecutor at that moment (Monday, 25 May 2015, 22:00). The chief of “Nostra Silva” speaks in “Cosa Nostra” style: “How the mobsters wanted to kill the foreign journalists” and “How the mobsters trampled those who defend the forests”. The absurdity is colossal! Everything is presented exactly the other way around. If Păun Gabriel, Andrioni Alin, and Weidinger Gerit had been sincere and had wanted the truth to be found out, they would have immediately handed over to the criminal investigation bodies the phones and the video camera with which they filmed, showing the original, unfalsified recordings. We saw that the three chose to flee the scene and to hide the probative material. They presented themselves at the police after 5-6 hours, during which time they processed the films and posted on social networks and in the media mendacious collages under different identities, in order to create the impression that the information comes from several independent sources. (The illusion of credibility.) In reality it was one and the same lie, broadcast abundantly on several NGO channels, which took the place of the truth, and this is called manipulation.

Păun saw and filmed the whole time, from the moment we reached the site until Andrioni Alin drove the car over me and fled the scene. “Agent Green” lied saying that he was beaten “instantly,” a claim refuted by the evidence, a fact that determined the case prosecutor to admit that the physical violence began after the commission of the attempted murder. Moreover, it can be seen from the televised interview that he gave on Monday, 25 May, that he had no trace of a blow to the head or face. He had taken a few blows in the turmoil of the tension provoked by the attempted murder, but the consequences were amplified by unjustified exaggerations. For the victim Păun Gabriel there were no primary medical documents in the file to attest the injuries that he claimed to have suffered. His Emergency Unit medical chart, no. 5170/24.05.2015, disappeared from the file, even though the leadership of the Haţeg Hospital transmitted it to the criminal investigation bodies twice. The chart appeared in the file only in January 2022, when the battery file – severed from the one concerning the attempted murder – was sent to the Haţeg Court.

Even after six years, Păun Gabriel continued to uphold the same lies. On 4 November 2021, he gave an interview in which he claims that he was the victim of an attempted murder. “That incident was an attempted murder, because if I had not been lucky, I would no longer be here today to do this interview. (…) The trauma remains, the pains remain, the after-effects remain, my right hand I will soon no longer be able to use, because it will be replaced with a metal rod, but let us say that I am happy that I am alive and that I can do my job”(doc.1). The interview was published a little before Păun’s file was sent to court. He is the injured party of the crime of battery. The medical documents in the file show that “his life was not put in danger”, so there is no question of an attempted murder against him. Then, the X-rays certify that “no fracture lines are evident”, so he did not have “broken ribs” either. As for Păun’s fears that he will lose his RIGHT hand, what can we say, when the doctors who examined him write that, in fact, he had been hit on the LEFT hand? (doc.2).

The Public Had to Be Prepared Through Lies

On the day of the attempted murder, two articles appeared on the website romaniacurata.ro with the aim of diverting public opinion in favor of my aggressors, who provoked the events at Râul Alb. First, Daniel Befu published the article: “The aggressor injured in the incidents at Râul Alb was sent by helicopter to Cluj. What the police say and how many incidents, threats, and aggressions took place before today’s” (art.1). The author cobbled together a mini-history of some so-called previous violence at Râul Alb, using denunciations launched by Dejeu Călin. But, following the investigations carried out by the prosecutors, everything that this individual reported proved to be untrue. Mihai Goţiu took the manipulation into the upper spheres of politics: “Gentlemen Ponta and Iohannis, do people have to die for measures to be taken? Who answers for the victims at Râul Alb” (art.2).Goţiu writes that
“the news is troubling, but, unfortunately, what happened was predictable”. How did Goţiu foresee the criminal intentions of the activists? We find out also from his articles, in which he says, among other things, that: “For half a year, a Cluj biologist, by the name of Dejeu Călin, has been on the authorities’ backs with notifications and complaints, gathering signatures and alerting even the international community. So that it is not just a formal inspection, sign the petition too and pass it on. Let them know we are keeping an eye on them (and not just an eye)”(doc.3).

On Monday, 25.05.2015, the members of the group posted on YouTube, from the romaniacurata.ro account, the same mendacious collages under the title: “Activists attacked, Râul Alb, Dinosaurs’ Geopark, 24.05.2015” (Episode 13). On their margins several comments were made that exonerated the perpetrator of the attempted murder (“Stay relaxed” and “You do not need to apologize… you are in legitimate self-defense and your life was put in danger!”) and incited to violence against us (“I think I would have intentionally driven into them if I had been at the wheel, my adrenaline already rose just when I saw this footage!!! Maximum luck at the trials now…”; “Do not leave them until you see them behind bars”). Daniel Befu and Mihai Goţiu continued the disinformation on the website “România Curată.” They wrote an article through which they promoted all the mendacious statements that Gabriel Păun and Andrioni Alin had made the day before. The title is suggestive: “TERROR: Gabi Păun, from Agent Green, and several young people were attacked with boulders at Râul Alb, in the Dinosaurs’ Park. Gabi Păun, but also an aggressor, ended up at the hospital”. And from the body: “Gabriel Păun, the head of the Agent Green association, and several young people (local guides, with whom Gabi Păun had spoken) were attacked today (Sunday) by approximately 10 thugs, with boulders, while they were trying to document the project of the hydropower plant at Râul Alb, in the Dinosaurs’ Geopark in Ţara Haţegului (Coroieşti, Hunedoara County). At the scene, during the violence, a team of journalists from Deutsche Welle also arrived. Likewise, in the area, the previous week tree cuttings had been reported that could have come either from the Retezat National Park or from the natural park. The young people who sent the photographs also reported that they had been assaulted (see here, at the end of the article). Păun was hit several times and escaped by hiding in the forest. While they were trying to escape, one of the cars with which the environmentalists had come to the scene hit one of the aggressors, who was transported to the Deva hospital for additional investigations. The Hunedoara man Alin Andrioni was driving one of the cars with which the young people went up to Râul Alb. He told România Curată what happened: ‘They got out of a trailer. There were three more men and two women, one of whom was a journalist from Germany. We did not think we would be attacked as in the Middle Ages or as in Africa. Some of the attackers were bare-chested like the Indians. The lady from Germany was screaming and had gone into shock. She could no longer control herself out of fright’ (art.3.).

The Proof of the Mendacious “International Scandal”

In the media hysteria that gripped the public space, many lies were told, but the first at the top would be that with “a team of journalists from Deutsche Welle” who would have been the victim of the ambush at Râul Alb. In the entire 12-volume body of evidence there is no document to confirm this filth. The evidence shows that there was no foreign journalist in the story at Râul Alb. In fact, there was no journalist (regardless of nationality) because Păun Gabriel only passed himself off as a reporter, but he is paid as an activist, which is something else entirely. How did all the central televisions that broadcast the news come to accuse us of having “bestially” beaten German journalists from Deutsche Welle? How is it that no one, but absolutely no one – from journalists to policemen, prosecutors, and ending with the Prime Minister – verified the lies publicly spread by a few pseudo-environmentalists?

The truth is that at the attack at Râul Alb there was a single foreign citizen: Weidinger Gerit, the girlfriend of Păun Gabriel, an Austrian citizen, agent of influence – paid by third parties (among them also by Agent Green) to carry out various campaigns. Here is what the young woman from Austria says about herself in the statement given before the criminal investigation bodies:
“Question from lawyer Cerva Cosmina: From the footage it results that the witness (Weidinger Gerit, our note) would have presented herself as a journalist for a Deutsche Welle station; Whether she presented herself, from the Deutsche Welle station, as a journalist making a report about micro-hydropower plants built on Râul Alb? Answer:
I never said any such thing. I did not say that. I do not know who said that. Question from lawyer Chitic: I understood that there are collegial relations between the witness and Păun Gabriel; does the witness represent an environmental organization or is she a colleague in Agent Green, how does the witness understand to explain the collegiality she speaks of.
Answer: I collaborate with the organization Animal International, I am a freelancer and work in communication, I talk with the politicians, with us a campaign is made and I campaign against the transport of live animals,
I am an agent of influence; with Agent Green there were small projects, everything was pre-established, I made videos on Facebook, but I no longer collaborate with them. Question from lawyer Cerva Cosmina: Did she see the action at Râul Alb as such a campaign that the witness carries out?
Answer: No, it had no connection with my activity.
Question from lawyer Chitic:
Did Agent Green pay the witness for her collaboration or did she have a voluntary relationship?Answer:
Yes, sometimes I received money for the works carried out” (doc.4).The whole story of the scandal at Râul Alb is “larded” with lies meant to cosmetically improve the image of the “young environmentalists” who provoked the violence and fabricated evidence in order to hide the criminal act.

Slander and Disinformation

On Tuesday, 26 May 2015, under the logo of Nostra Silva – an NGO whose president is Todoran Bogdan, the lawyer of Păun Gabriel – , the same mendacious collages were posted with the pretension of a professional analysis (YouTube source: The attempted murder against the Agent Green investigator – 24/05/2015.) The little film unleashed another wave of hatred against us. The comments are relevant: “They must be gone over and lynched. If they are animals they must be treated like animals”; “well! if the police does not resolve them legally, the excrement that assaulted the investigation team I will resolve myself! but then, the police will have a big problem! IT WILL BE VERY DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY THEM!”

On the same Tuesday, Daniel Befu and Mihai Goţiu continued the campaign in România Curată with an article entitled: “The first VIDEO recordings of the incidents at Râul Alb. The seriously injured aggressor is the owner of the company that wanted to build the hydropower plant. At Arad, he is under criminal investigation for blackmail” (art.4). They had moved to the next level: the attack on the person, my demolition with alleged criminal deeds unconnected to the scandal at Râul Alb, but which would show the whole world who is the “bad man” who assaulted some “young environmentalists,” gentle and exceedingly loving toward nature. “România Curată came into possession of a first recording of Sunday’s incidents, at Râul Alb, in the Dinosaurs’ Geopark, where a group of young people, among them also the environmental activist Gabriel Păun, from Agent Green, were attacked by a group of people led by the owner of the company that wants to build the micro-hydropower plant here.”

On Wednesday, 27 May 2015, Mihai Goţiu publishes in România Curată a “VIDEO ANALYSIS of the attack at Râul Alb. The proof of how violent the attacks on Gabi Păun (Agent Green) were, and of the fact that the seriously injured aggressor is the one who ran and jumped on the hood of a moving car” (art.5). The so-called “professional analysis” is a cheap manipulation in the sense that the thread of events is reversed to make it seem that first the “young environmentalists” were assaulted and only afterward the attempted murder was committed. If you look at the moment when Păun Gabriel was hit – the freeze-frame with which Goţiu began his manipulation – you will observe that the image is captured from the car that earlier drove over me. So, the aggression against Păun cannot be prior to the attempted murder. Why did Goţiu reverse them? In order to suggest the idea that we provoked the conflict and that Andrioni’s deed would be an unfortunate CONSEQUENCE of our violence. This interpretation was taken over by the official investigation as well, which in our opinion is called: favoring the criminal. Then, the story that I jumped on the car is as if someone were to say that you stuck your eye onto his fist, after he hit you as in boxing. I have explained the moment, we will not insist here. As for the fact that: “Gabriel Păun suffered strong blows to the head, thorax, and left hand (or right hand – not even he knows anymore), following which he ended up with a fractured rib, lesions on the lateral and back parts of the head, as well as a broken finger”, there are medical documents that prove that the former senator Goţiu is lying. Also on Wednesday, 27 May 2015, we were accused of vandalism. On the Facebook account “Instalaţii Termice Sanitare” (managed by Andrioni Alin), on Mihai Goţiu’s personal account, as well as on the romaniacurata.ro account, it appeared that: “The headquarters of Alin Andrioni’s firm, in Toteşti commune, was vandalized last night (the night of Tuesday to Wednesday); Instalaţii Termice
Sanitare: “They are the same brutes who should have been arrested on the spot for attempted murder”; Mihai Goţiu: “TENSIONS are rising in the Retezat. The headquarters of the firm of one of the local guides who accompanied on Sunday the environmental activists and journalists attacked at Râul Alb was vandalized last night!” (doc.5). The accusations against us are slanderous, completely lacking in proof. They are part of the same strategy of diverting attention from the truly serious deeds committed by the “#” agents. If there had really been a vandalization, Andrioni would have notified the police in connection with this event and we would have been investigated.

Propaganda with Specific Methods of Personal Attack

After three days of lynching, there followed the media sentence that “found” me guilty of aggression and presented me as a criminal with a criminal record. On 28.05.2015, Goţiu Mihai wrote an article in România Curată, where he denigrates us and obviously distorts the truth regarding the events of 24.05.2015, lying with nonchalance: “The aggression was led by the owner of the firm”; “the attacked young people were trying to flee the rain of stones”; “EXCLUSIVE: What business connections the attackers at Râul Alb had with the underworld in Arad. And why the owner who led the attack is under criminal investigation”; “The attack on some activists and journalists at Râul Alb, in the Dinosaurs’ Geopark in Ţara Haţegului, shocked the entire country. The aggression was led by the owner of the firm Abi Automotion, Mihalache Bocea, the one who was seriously injured while the attacked young people were trying to flee the rain of boulders that descended upon them. România Curată investigated the history of this firm, which obtained, in a more than questionable manner, the right to build a micro-hydropower plant on one of the last virgin rivers of Europe” (art.6).In the articles published by the two “journalists” (Befu Daniel and Goţiu Mihai’s boss) several confidential pieces of information are presented about my family and about the firms I managed, from which it results that the authors of the materials “documented us” long before 24.05.2015. They speak about a file in which I had been unjustly accused of blackmail, in 2013, but the case prosecutor dismissed the file in the same year on the grounds that the deed does not exist (doc.6). That file was used by Befu Daniel and Goţiu Mihai to show that I would be a “person at odds with the law.” The information presented in those articles was not public at the time, from which it results that the NGO press activists received it from persons in the system who have access to such information. It should also be noted that this group is very well organized. Each time it posts at the same time and in several publications the same fake news about certain persons whom it denigrates, transforming them into veritable targets. In our case, it is clear that all these tendentious postings were made in order to save Andrioni Alin, who, in other conditions, could have exposed his “protectors.”
 

After everything that happened, I am entitled to believe that my physical liquidation was not “predictable” (as the former USR senator Mihai Goţiu claimed), but programmed.