Protests by citizens, judges and prosecutors have broken out in Romania over political influence and corruption in the country's judiciary, and the European Union (EU) Chief Prosecutor Laura Kovesi has joined the demands to prevent this, media reports.
The German website "Deutsche Welle" and other EU media outlets reported that citizen protests broke out in Bucharest and other cities, and six hundred judges and prosecutors signed a request to carry out a thorough reform of the judiciary and prevent political influence or millions of dollars in corruption from stopping investigations and preventing verdicts.
The scandal and demands that those responsible bear the consequences erupted after the investigative network "Rekorder" published video testimony that judges and prosecutors were prevented and punished by superiors and politicians when they worked to expose abuses and violations of the law.
The EU's chief prosecutor, Romanian Laura Kovesi, joined a letter from six hundred domestic prosecutors and judges demanding that those who used influence and corruption in the judiciary to prevent and cover up investigations and verdicts be prevented and punished.
The documentary video "Captured Justice" that brought the scandal to light conveyed testimonies of how politically appointed key leaders in the judiciary imposed controversial solutions, including exemptions from charges, while disciplinary proceedings were initiated against prosecutors and judges who opposed this.
Thus, among others, Libiu Lascu, a prosecutor and former head of the military department of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA), revealed how he was prevented from continuing his work on thoroughly documented cases of corruption in the security and military apparatus and was therefore forced to leave his post.
The Romanian Ministry of Justice has asked the government to consider changes to the judiciary in light of these revelations, explaining that "Romania has made important progress in the judiciary, but there are still things that need to be resolved."
The newspaper "Mond" and other French media reported that protesters in Bucharest demanded in particular the resignations of Justice Minister Radu Marinescu, as well as Supreme Court President Lia Savonea, as well as several other high-ranking officials.
Bonus video:
