The former head of the National
\nAnticorruption Directorate Laura Codruta Kovesi on Thursday found out in
\nBucharest that she was a suspect in a new case. Also on Thursday, the news came
\nfrom Brussels that the Conference of Presidents in the European Parliament
\ndecided to endorse her to head the future EU chief prosecutor’s office in the
\nnegotiations with the Council of the EU. For Kovesi, it is no coincidence that
\nshe was summoned to appear before prosecutors in Bucharest on the very day when
\nactivities were taking place related to her nomination for EU chief prosecutor.
\nLaura Codruta Kovesi:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
I don’t think it’s a coincidence, I
\nthink I was summoned on purpose for this particular day, I think it was on
\npurpose that I was hindered today to give statements and clear things out and I
\nalso think it was on purpose that I was summoned in relation to one case only
\nto find out that I was being heard in a different case, without being summoned
\nfor it in a procedural and correct manner.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The former chief of the National
\nAnticorruption Directorate says she has been harassed in the public space for
\ntwo years, as well as by the Judicial Inspectorate, which has conducted verifications
\nof her activity on almost 50 different occasions. Kovesi says the procedure by
\nwhich she was informed of the new accusations against her violated all
\nprocedural rights, including by the presentation of unsigned documents. The
\nsecond case is connected, according to judicial sources, with the
\nestablishment, in the National Anticorruption Directorate, of an organised
\ncrime group, and she is accused of belonging to this group and of complicity in
\nunfair repression. Kovesi has described these allegations as pure fabrications.
\nShe says the accusations brought in the first case, namely abuse of office,
\nfalse testimony and bribe taking, were also absurd. That case was opened following
\naccusations made by the former MP Sebastian Ghita, who fled to Serbia after
\nbeing indicted in Romania. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The investigations in the Kovesi
\ncase are brought by the prosecutors from the much-contested special department to
\ninvestigate magistrates established recently, according to critics, to
\nintimidate prosecutors and judges. On the other hand, the government in
\nBucharest continues efforts, much to the bewilderment of Romania’s European
\npartners, to undermine Kovesi’s candidacy for EU chief prosecutor. The
\ngovernment has assumed the letter about Kovesi sent to The Financial Times by
\nthe justice minister Tudorel Toader. In this letter, Toader says the former
\nhead of the National Anticorruption Directorate should not occupy the position
\nof EU chief prosecutor because under her leadership the Directorate committed
\nabuses and her investigative strategy was based on coercion. In response, the
\nNational Anticorruption Directorate accuses minister Toader, also in a letter
\nto the British publication, that he presented factually incorrect data about
\nthe Directorate’s activity. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
So far, nothing new on the anti-Kovesi
\nfront opened by the leftist government in Bucharest. The question is how will
\nshe position herself if she gets the position as EU chief prosecutor?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On the very day the European Parliament decided to back her nomination for EU chief prosecutor, Laura Codruta Kovesi was brought new accusations in Bucharest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":81002,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-81001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n