May 31, 2018
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Newsroom, 31.05.2018, 14:06
VISIT The president of the Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest, Liviu Dragnea, has today ended the official visit he was paying to Bern at the invitation of Dominique de Buman, president of the National Council in Switzerland. Dragneas agenda also included a meeting with the president of the Swiss Confederation Alain Berset as well as talks with Romanias three honorary consuls to the Swiss Federation. On Tuesday, after Dragnea had already started his visit to Switzerland, the High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest postponed for June 8th the verdict in a corruption file in which the Romanian official is involved. Anti-corruption prosecutors have called for a prison sentence of 7 years and 5 months in this file for abuse of office. According to them, Dragnea should also serve 2 years and 5 months in prison for forgery. They have accused Dragnea that while being president of the County Council in Teleorman, southern Romania, he ordered the fictitious employment of two party members in the Direction for Social Assistance and Child Protection. The two were paid out of public money, although they were exclusively working for the Social Democratic Party. In 2016, Dragnea also received a two-year suspended sentence for attempted election fraud.
PROTESTS Thousands took to the streets of Bucharest on Wednesday night to protest a Constitutional Court ruling through which president Klaus Iohannis is asked to issue a decree for sacking Romanias anti-corruption chief, Laura Codruta Kovesi. The protesters chanted slogans against the court and the main ruling party PSD, which they have accused of trying to stop the anti-corruption fight and subordinate the magistrates. Street rallies against the CC ruling have also taken place in Timisoara, western Romania and Sibiu in the centre.
ECHR The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has today condemned Romania and Lithuania for the alleged CIA detention centres on their territories. The European court has ruled in a case against Romania tabled by Saudi citizen Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri currently held at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and considered a High Value Detainee by the CIA since the beginning of the ‘war on terror, the US president George W Bush had launched after the September 11th terror attacks. Al-Nashiri says that Romania allowed his secret detention on its territory by the CIA, where he was subjected to various forms of torture as well as mental and physical abuse for several years. He also accuses Romania of allowing his transfer to other secret CIA detention centers. Al-Nashiris case was registered at ECHR in 2012 though Romania has constantly denied the existence of such centers on its territory.
RESOLUTION In a resolution passed on Wednesday, the European Parliament has reiterated Romania and Bulgarias readiness to become part of the Schengen zone and has called on the European Council to approve the accession of these two countries, 11 years on from their EU accession. In another development MEPs have condemned border checking inside the Schengen zone, which, according to them, hinders the free circulation between the 26 member countries. We recall that some European countries are again applying border checking in an attempt to prevent migration, while France is applying this measure to prevent further terrorist attacks.
HANDBALL The Romanian national womens handball side is today playing the Austrian representative in their last but one away game in qualifying Group 4 for the European Championship, France will be hosting in December. The two sides are the first in the groups ranking, each with six points and they are followed by Russia, with four, and Portugal with no points. The Romanians will be playing Portugal in their last game at home on Sunday. The first two sides in the group are qualified for the final tournament.
(translated by bill)
