The SLOMR's establishment and the issue of its constituent statement were almost immediately followed by a wave of repression against the body and its members — it included massive arrests, involuntary commitment in psychiatric hospitals, exile, systematic harassment, beatings, as well as a summary trial and prison sentence passed on the SLOMR founder and other leading members. Thus, the 20 founders have been arrested and sentenced to prison, Ion Cană being condemned to a 7 years term for "disseminating fascist propaganda". Another trade union leader, Gheorghe Brașoveanu, was confined to a psychiatric institution while the prominent opponent Vasile Paraschiv underwent harsh psychiatric treatment.