President Nicușor Dan on Thursday evening in Dublin expressed regret over the death of lawyer Marius Liviu Harosa, calling him the “legal leader” of the Roșia Montană civic movement, AGERPRES reports.

“I signed the decree for the posthumous decoration of Marius Harosa, the Order of the Star of Romania in the rank of Knight,” the president said at the ninth European Political Community summit hosted by Ireland.

In his view, the Roșia Montană civic movement is among Romania’s most important civic expressions since 1989, “somehow on the same level as University Square,” and Harosa was its legal leader.

There were dozens of lawsuits, all won by various associations; Harosa was not the only lawyer, but the principal one, representing the public interest pro bono, the president said.

He also recalled Harosa’s help to the Romanian state in the arbitration where the mining developer sought damages. “It is a great loss for all of us.”

The Wednesday decree awards the distinction “in high appreciation” for work defending citizens’ rights and protecting national heritage.

Harosa was an associate professor at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca and a Cluj Bar lawyer; the bar announced his death on Tuesday.

Nicușor Dan on Marius Harosa’s death: It is a great loss — AGERPRES

Image: Wikimedia Commons — Roșia Montană (CC BY 2.0).

Sources consulted: Nicușor Dan on Marius Harosa’s death: It is a great loss — AGERPRES.