On September 5th
\nRomanian senators and deputies returned to work after the summer holiday for a
\nlast and brief session of the current Parliament ahead of the legislative
\nelections due on December 11th. It is not only senators and deputies
\nthat got back to work, but also the most fearful enemies of political
\ncorruption in Romania: the anti-corruption prosecutors and civil rights
\nmilitants. Thousands of people protested on Thursday in front of the Parliament
\nheadquarters in Bucharest and several other Romanian cities against the
\nSenate’s decision to reject the request of the National Anti-Corruption
\nDirectorate (DNA) to start the prosecution of senator Gabriel Oprea. This is a
\npolitical vote that obstructs justice, the DNA chief, Laura Codruta Kovesi
\nsaid about the senators’ vote. <\/p>\n
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A former deputy prime minister and interior minister in Victor
\nPonta’s cabinet, Oprea is accused of manslaughter over the death of a
\npoliceman, Bogdan Gigina. The latter died last year in a motorcycle accident
\nwhile he was providing official police escort for Oprea. According to the DNA,
\nOprea was not entitled to official police escort at the time, given that he was
\nbelieved to be making a personal trip. <\/p>\n
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Legal experts and pundits alike say that the investigators’
\naccusations are rather unsubstantial, and argue that Oprea, who is being
\ninvestigated in several other more serious criminal cases, does not necessarily
\nface a conviction in the dead policeman case. Here’s what protesters told Radio
\nRomania:<\/p>\n
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\n
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We want justice, not immunity. Unfortunately, we are governed by
\nMPs who have immunity and who do nothing but steal from us and leave us dirt
\npoor. How much longer are we to tolerate this? Laws are being broken and they
\napply differently to different people. This is what I told my child who asked
\nme why we have come here to protest. By blocking a criminal investigation,
\nParliament have showed us just how much they despise justice and family. We are
\nnot accusing anyone. It’s not for us to apply labels, we are simply saying they
\nshould let the prosecutors go to the judges and let justice run its course. <\/p>\n
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Thursday’s large-scale
\nprotests were similar to those in November 2015 when the coalition government
\nheaded by the Social-Democrat Victor Ponta resigned under the pressure of
\nanti-corruption rallies staged across the country. Less than three months ahead
\nof the parliamentary elections, the Romanian political class seems to have got
\nthe message. President Klaus Iohannis has warned that a reassessment of the
\nparliamentary and also presidential immunity system is needed. The National
\nLiberal Party has requested that the Senate’s vote on Oprea’s immunity be
\nresumed and the Social Democratic Party has agreed. In a message on the social
\nmedia Oprea himself said he would ask for the DNA’s request to be approved by
\nthe Senate. He also said he would ask his colleagues to approve the lifting of
\nhis parliamentary immunity so that he could prove he was not hiding from
\njustice and that he considered himself innocent. It is uncertain, however, if
\nparliamentary procedures allow for the vote to be resumed. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thousands of Romanians protest against Senate’s blocking manslaughter investigation of former deputy PM and interior minister Gabriel Oprea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":70052,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[29404,28990],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-70051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-gabriel-oprea","tag-protests"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n