The World - News from May 23, 1989

Belgium lodged a strong protest with Romania after a Belgian political leader said he and a colleague were beaten by Romanian police when they tried to visit dissident writer Doina Cornea last week. Gerard Deprez, chairman of the Social Christian Party, said he and Christian Leonard, the party’s former press attache, were punched by police when they approached Cornea’s home in the Romanian town of Cluj. Leonard, who suffered a black eye, was almost run over when a police officer tripped him and pushed him toward a passing car as the two men tried to flee, Deprez told reporters in Brussels.