Activist, diaspora groups in Romania call for investigation of police at 2018 anti-corruption rally

Activist Marian Raduna, dressed as a riot police officer, pretends to hit a woman wearing a white shirt with the text "Romanian Diaspora", during a protest that calls on prosecutors to investigate riot police for violently quelling an anti-corruption rally on August 10, 2018, in Bucharest, Romania, August 10, 2020. Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via REUTERS

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romanian activist and diaspora groups called on state institutions on Monday to investigate riot police for using violence to quell an anti-corruption rally two years ago.

One group, Diaspora for Romania, laid out dozens of sneakers, sandals, boots and stilettos outside government headquarters in Victory Square, the venue for anti-corruption protests, on the anniversary of the rally. Another group paraded a giant pink elephant around the city and a third drew chalk outlines and reenacted riot police violence.