26/08/2003 (Agence Europe) - MEP Astrid Thors (ELDR, Finland) insisted when talking to EU ambassadors in Romania that they should closely follow the appeal of two former Securitate officers under the former Romanian President, Nicolae Ceausescu, which began on Monday. The two men were convicted, on 14 July, of murdering the Romanian dissident, Gheorghe Ursu in 1985, and have been sentenced to eleven years in prison. In a letter to the EU ambassadors, the former Chairman of the joint EU-Romanian parliamentary committee points out that the Romanian police "avoided arresting the criminals" and that the General Prosecutor appealed against the decision taken by the Supreme Court "on an absurd procedural pretext", considering that the penalty was too heavy. Ms Thors calls on the EU ambassadors to send an observer during the whole duration of the trial and to "make clear to Romanian Authorities that any interference, injustice or abuse of the legal system will be considered a serious setback on Romania's road to Europe".