Radu Mazare, the
\nformer Social-Democrat mayor of Constanta, Romania’s biggest Black Sea port, has
\nreceived a final 9-year prison sentence from the High Court of Cassation and
\nJustice for illegal return of land in Constanta and the nearby resort of Mamaia,
\nin the beach and seafront areas. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Begun more than
\na decade ago, the inquiry has revealed the web of corruption that controlled a
\ncomplex mechanism of illegal restitution and awarding of city land that caused
\nthe state losses of 114 million euros. Almost 40 persons were indicted, including
\ncity hall staff, notaries, intermediaries, heirs and assignees buying accession
\nrights. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Other
\nhigh-profile names involved include the former Social-Democrat president of the
\nCounty Council Nicusor Constantinescu and the former financiers of Dinamo football
\nclub Cristian Borcea and Dragos Savulescu. They were charged with aggravated
\nabuse of office against public interest to obtain patrimonial benefits,
\naggravated forgery and association to commit criminal offences. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
They’re all
\ngoing to prison with the exception of Radu Mazare who fled the country and now
\nlives in Madagascar, the most exotic of the destinations chosen by former
\ndignitaries, politicians and heads of institutions found guilty of acts of
\ncorruption. Borcea will return to prison after a short period of freedom. He
\nwas released on parole last year after serving part of the sentence he got in
\nanother infamous case involving illegal football transfers. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
This was the
\nfirst important sentence handed down by the High Court of Cassation and Justice
\nsince the blockage caused by an intervention of the Constitutional Court that
\ndeemed as non-legal the creation of 5-judge panels in the last two years. The
\nHigh Court was therefore forced to suspend sentences for a number of famous
\nindividuals, such as the former minister Elena Udrea and the former chief of
\nthe organised crime and terrorism prosecutor’s office, Alina Bica, both of whom
\nare seeking political asylum in Costa Rica. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
And they were
\nnot the only ones who benefited from the situation. A situation which, together
\nwith the uncertainty surrounding the position of head of the National
\nAnticorruption Directorate, which is still vacant after the dismissal of Laura
\nCodruta Kovesi, and the situation of the prosecutor general Augustin Lazar, against
\nwhom dismissal procedures have begun, as well as the controversial amendments
\nto the judicial legislation made by the leftist government, have fuelled
\nconcerns, both at home and abroad, about the functioning of the judiciary. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In all her
\nmeetings as part of Romania’s presidency of the Council of the European Union,
\nPrime Minister Viorica Dancila has tried to allay these fears, giving
\nassurances that the rule of law is respected. She also gave such assurances on
\nThursday during talks with the president of the European Council Donald Tusk.
\nAfter the meeting, Tusk posted the following message on Twitter: Maybe I’m old
\nfashioned but I still believe that it’s for judges, not politicians to decide
\nwho’s guilty and who’s innocent.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The High Court of Cassation and Justice in Romania has issued a final verdict in a case that has lasted more than 10 years<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":58339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[31800,28962,29799],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-80636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-augustin-lazar","tag-elena-udrea","tag-laura-codruta-kovesi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n