Due to a case of bureaucracy gone mad, a Romanian man has been officially declared dead despite appearing in court being alive and well to overturn the decision, it has been reported.
Constantin Reliu, 63, asked a court in the town of Barlad, Romania, to overturn a death certificate obtained by his wife after spending more than 10 years in Turkey.
Mr Reliu told local media: “I am officially dead, although I’m alive.
“I have no income and because I am listed dead, I can’t do anything.”
During Mr Reliu’s time in Turkey, he was out of contact with his family.
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The court, however, told him that he was too late, and he would have to remain officially deceased.
Mr Reliu left Romania for Turkey in 1992 to allegedly seek employment.
He last returned to the country in 1999 and appears to have cut off all contact with his family.
After years of silence from her husband, Reliu’s wife obtained a backdated death certificate for him.
It was reported that Mr Reliu’s wife had argued in court that after not hearing from her husband since 1999, she assumed he was dead.
The Romanian daily Adevarul said Mr Reliu believes his wife sought to have him declared dead in order to annul the marriage and allow her to remarry.
He may have never found out he had died if he had not been apprehended by Turkish authorities earlier this year and deported back to Romania.
Mr Reliu had planned to renew his passport in Romania and return to Turkey, however, on arrival he was detained by immigration officers who told him he had died in 2003.
He said he wanted to return to Turkey and has set up a small company in Romania, but is now faced with a legal battle in order to regain his identity and passport.
A spokeswoman for the court told local news that Mr Reliu had been too late with his appeal against the death certificate and had therefore lost the case.
The ruling is allegedly final and cannot be appealed against, Express reported.
Mr Reliu said he would like to file a fresh lawsuit but has no money and suffers from diabetes, which makes everything more difficult.
That’s what happen when you forget your family in search of greener pastures, you become a living dead.