Justice Minister Radu Marinescu ordered an emergency inspection on Monday at the Bucharest-Rahova Penitentiary following the escape of Turkish national Abdullah Atas, who has been serving a murder sentence since 2015.
According to a Ministry of Justice press release, the inspection is being conducted by the Minister's Inspection Body and aims to verify the circumstances of the incident, assess compliance with legal and administrative procedures, and examine how the responsible staff fulfilled their duties. The Ministry stressed it will review the findings "with the utmost seriousness" and take all necessary legal measures to clarify the situation and prevent similar incidents.
Atas, who was held at Rahova under a semi-open regime, is now being sought by police after failing to return from a granted leave. Judicial sources told AGERPRES that he had benefited from more than 20 leaves in the past year.
"On Monday, at around 10:05, it was found that inmate Atas Abdulah, aged 45, with no prior criminal record, definitively sentenced to 22 years and 10 months for aggravated murder, did not return from his authorized leave at the scheduled time," the Rahova Penitentiary reported.
Authorities have notified the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Bucharest 5th District Court, the Bucharest General Police Directorate, Otopeni Local Police, Bucharest Local Police, the Turkish Embassy, the Romanian Police Inspectorate General, the Border Police Inspectorate General, the Immigration Directorate, and the judge overseeing the execution of custodial sentence.
Failure to return from prison leave is considered an escape and is punishable under Article 285 of the Criminal Code with six months to three years in prison, the penitentiary noted.
The fugitive is described as 1.68 m tall, athletic, with brown eyes, arched eyebrows, an oval face, fair complexion and dark brown hair. At the time he left the penitentiary, he was wearing black jeans, a blue jacket, a gray sweatshirt and white sneakers.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the emergency number 112 or contact the Bucharest-Rahova Penitentiary at 021.420.0810.
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