Radu Filipescu

Radu Filipescu (born December 26, 1955) is a former Romanian anti-Communist dissident.

Radu Filipescu's maternal uncle, Victor Groza, is the brother of Petru Groza, the first Communist Prime Minister of Romania.

During Ceauşescu's regime, Filipescu was imprisoned for several years for "propaganda against the socialist order".

Filipescu was born on December 26, 1955 in Târgu-Mureş, the youngest son of Zorel Filipescu and Carmelita-Ileana Filipescu. From 1974 to 1979, he studied electronics at the Bucharest Polytechnic Institute.

He worked at the former Automatica factory in Bucharest until his arrest in 1983.

Filipescu believed Romanians were dissatisfied with Ceausescu's leadership and he attempted to organize protests in response. Between December 1982 and May 1983, he printed leaflets and put them in Bucharest mailboxes, calling for a protest at the Palace Square in Bucharest. On May 7, 1983, he was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

He served almost three years at the Rahova, Jilava, and Aiud prisons. In December 1984, he was named Amnesty International's Prisoner of the Month.

With his family acknowledging his case abroad, international pressure from several non-governmental organizations (including the French Human Rights League, International Society for Human Rights, and the Swiss organization Le Pavé), and the efforts of politicians from Western Europe and the United States, Filipescu was released from prison on April 18, 1986.

In 1987, after attempting to organize a referendum against Ceauşescu's leadership, he was arrested on December 12 and was interrogated and beaten by Securitate officers. After a quick response from human rights organizations and radio broadcasters, including Radio Free Europe, the BBC, RFI, Deutsche Welle, and Voice of America, he was released on December 22, 1987, without an indictment. He was arrested a third time on December 22, 1989, but was released that same day at noon.

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