Ceausescu remains exhumed for DNA
Scientists in Romania have exhumed what are thought to be the remains of former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife in order to check their identity.
The exhumation follows a request from Ceausescu's family, who have questioned whether the couple were really buried in the Ghencea cemetery in Bucharest.
Nicolae Ceausescu ruled Romania from 1965 until he was toppled in the 1989 revolution. He was caught and executed with his wife after the couple tried to flee.
It is believed the bodies were hastily buried in an unmarked grave in the military cemetery.
But the whereabouts of the corpses has been described as one of the great unsolved mysteries of the Romanian revolution.
Humphrey Hawkesley reports.
21 Jul 2010
- From the section Europe