Radio România Internațional

Tag: prison sentence

  • Former DIICOT chief gets prison sentence

    Former DIICOT chief gets prison sentence

    Alina Bica, the former head of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism — DIICOT on Tuesday received a definitive, 4-year prison sentence in a case in which anti-corruption prosecutors accused her of aiding and abetting in crime. In 2013 she put pressure on prosecutors for a controversial businessman, Ovidiu Tender, who was under investigation, to receive a suspended sentence. The 4-year sentence will be diminished by the period of time in which she was held in temporary custody, namely January to June 2015. The same Alina Bica, involved in another two cases, was acquitted in the one in which she was accused of receiving bribe for closing a case involving another businessman.



    At present, Alina Bica is not in Romania, and in December her lawyers had announced she could not attend the trial because of an accident she had suffered in Spain. Later it was discovered that the former DIICOT chief was safe and sound in far-away Costa Rica where she had applied for political asylum.



    Alina Bica served as a model for Elena Udrea, a former presidential advisor, head of the chancellery of the president, a former tourism minister and also former minister for regional development. She was also known as being close to president Traian Basescu’s entourage, and she actually owes President Basescu her political ascension. Elena Udrea also received a definitive sentence from the High Court of Cassation and Justice, namely 6 years in prison and the payment of 3 million Euros in damages in the case known as the Bute Gala. In that respective file, prosecutors accused Elena Udrea of having illegally used public funds to fund a boxing gala featuring former world champion Lucian Bute. Found guilty of bribe taking and abuse of office, Elena Udrea claims she is not guilty and hopes to obtain the status of political refugee in Costa Rica.



    Another Romanian politician with legal problems is Radu Mazare, a former mayor of Constanta, who also fled the country taking refuge to Madagascar, as he was accused of corruption. Not only did he set up a business in Madagascar but he also asked for the authorities’ protection, claiming that he was being politically persecuted in Romania. Other Romanian offenders who fled the country are tycoon Puiu Popoviciu, who took refuge in London although he received a definitive 7-year prison sentence, and politician and businessman Sebastian Ghita, who took refuge in Belgrade, despite the many cases in which he is being investigated.


    (Translated by L. Simion)

  • Prison sentence for the Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea

    Prison sentence for the Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea

    News of the prison sentence passed for the Social-Democrat strongman Liviu Dragnea has shaken the whole political scene. Dragnea was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment for instigation to abuse of office. The ruling is not final. The High Court of Cassation and Justice, the court of first instance in this matter, gave credit to the accusations of the National Anticorruption Directorate, which claims that Dragnea ordered the fictitious hiring of two party members at the Social Assistance and Child Protection Directorate while head of the Teleorman County Council. The two were paid from public money, although they worked exclusively for the Social Democratic Party. If confirmed, this will be the second time Dragnea is handed a prison sentence, after in 2016 he got a 2-year suspended sentence for electoral fraud for his involvement in the 2012 referendum on the impeachment of the then president Traian Basescu.



    Despite the sentence, Liviu Dragnea led his party to the most resounding victory in the legislative elections in the last 20 years. Prominent party leaders, including Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, have expressed their support for Dragnea, invoking the presumption of innocence which Dragnea should be given before a final sentence is passed.



    Others claim Dragnea is the target of a political vendetta, which they claim to be the work of the so-called “parallel state”, which allegedly includes the National Anticorruption Directorate and other services. The leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats Calin Popescu-Tariceanu in turn shared this view.



    Conversely, the right-wing opposition wants Dragnea to step down from all public offices. Liberal leader Ludovic Orban has urged the members of the ruling coalition to distance themselves from the Social-Democrat president and vote for their censure motion. In turn, the Save Romania Union says it is unacceptable for Romania to have a “twice-convicted” Chamber of Deputies speaker.



    People protesting in Bucharest and other large cities of Romania against the Social-Democratic Party and its leader have welcomed the news of the sentence. People are not just calling on Dragnea to resign, but on the whole Government. They want the Parliament dissolved for snap elections to be held. Liviu Dragnea’s position is uncertain, with the whole party and ruling coalition showing signs of a breakdown. The first test thereof will be next Wednesday, when Parliament will vote on the Liberals’ censure motion. Dragnea’s leading the party with an iron-hand has prompted many Social-Democrats to leave the party. His critics accuse him of trying to radically change and subordinate the justice system, a plan which Thursday’s ruling has apparently foiled.

  • October 3, 2016 UPDATE

    October 3, 2016 UPDATE

    SENTENCE – The High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest on Monday sentenced to prison all the four defendants in the so-called Microsoft case, one of the most notorious corruption cases in Romania. The decision is final. Two influential business people, Dorin Cocos and Nicolae Dumitru, a former Minister of Communications, Gabriel Sandu, and the former mayor of Piatra-Neamt, Gheorghe Stefan, got a total of 19 years in prison. The High Court also decided to seize some 17 million euros worth of prejudice from the four. According to the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, in April 2004 the contract for awarding Microsoft licenses in the education system was signed to the detriment of the state, allowing the payment of special bonuses to the people involved. A 60-million-euro bribe and a prejudice standing at 27 million euros were among the charges facing the crime group at the time.



    UNIVERSITY – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Monday attendedthe opening ceremony for the new university year at the Western University of Timisoara. The president emphasized meritocracy, without which he said a better Romania would not be possible. He said that the country needed political projects looking to the future, as well as political visions and politicians who want to build a better Romania.



    DEFENSE – Romanian Defense Minister Mihnea Motoc announced on Monday that Germany would allocate general staff officers to the NATO multinational brigade forming in Romania. At the same time, Bulgaria confirmed once again it would contribute 400 soldiers to the brigade, while Poland would set aside a company for the combat unit, which is set to work alongside an American unit. The Rovine 2nd Infantry Brigade, headquartered in Craiova, southern Romania, will turn into the NATO Multinational Brigade, as part of the plan laid out at the NATO summit in Warsaw that took place this summer.



    URBAN DEVELOPMENT – European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, said she hoped the Romanian Parliament elected on December 11th would align Romanian legislation with that of Europe. The commissioner attended in Bucharest a conference on today’s challenges in sustainable urban development and the role European funds play in it. She made reference to the EU’s urban agenda and its role in Romania. The commissioner visited several sites financed by European funds, attending conferences and meetings with Romanian officials.



    REFERENDUM – Nine out of ten Hungarians voted in Sunday’s referendum to turn down mandatory European quotas of refugees, but the low poll attendance, below 50%, invalidated the referendum. Radio Romania’s correspondent in Budapest informs that, in spite of its campaign against migration, the Conservative government led by Viktor Orban did not manage to bring people to the polls. The PM wants to validate the vote, and announced amendments to the Constitution.



    NOBEL – The Nobel Prize for Medicine went this year to Japanese researcher Yoshinori Ohsumi for research on autophagy, the metabolic activity in which organisms consume their own tissues when starving. His research is considered crucial for understanding cell renewal and the body’s response to hunger and infections, especially in its genetic aspects, relevant to research into cancer and neurological conditions.



    FOOTBALL – Romania’s national football team is preparing its away games against Armenia, scheduled for the 8th of October, and against Kazakhstan, on the 11th , part of the preliminaries to the 2018 World Cup to be held in Russia. Last month, the national team tied 1-all against Montenegro at home, in the first game under the guidance of German coach Cristoph Daum, the first foreign coach of a Romanian national side. In the same E group, Denmark bested Armenia 1-0, while Poland tied away from home in Kazakhstan, 2-all. On November 11, Romania is scheduled to play against Poland on home turf.


    (Translated by C. Cotoiu and V. Palcu)




  • Communist-era prison warden, sentenced

    Communist-era prison warden, sentenced

    More than 25 years after the fall of communism in Romania, the commander of the Ramnicu Sarat prison in 1956-1963, Alexandru Visinescu, now 90, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for crimes against humanity. It is the first ruling of this kind passed by Romanian courts with respect to offences committed under the communist regime. Judges also ordered that Alexandru Visinescu be stripped of his military rank and some civil rights for five years. He will also have to pay 300,000 euros in damages to the descendants of some of the prisoners in Ramnicu Sarat.



    Prosecutors argued that Alexandru Visinescu, as commander of that prison, subjected the political detainees to brutal treatment, including beatings, starvation, and deprivation of healthcare. Tens of survivors and relatives of political prisoners have testified in court against him. The regime he imposed in Ramnicu Sarat failed to ensure minimum survival conditions in the long term, and many of the prisoners, commonly serving sentences of more than ten years, died slowly as a result of physical and psychological torture. Investigators have identified 138 detainees held in Ramnicu Sarat during Visinescu’s term in office, among whom major political figures like Corneliu Coposu, Ion Diaconescu and Ion Mihalache.



    Upon announcing the sentence, judge Valentin Selaru said:


    “The Court notes that while a commander of the Ramnicu Sarat Penitentiary, the defendant Alexandru Visinescu subjected the community of prisoners to inhuman treatment, physical and psychological torture and extermination, and did so for political reasons.”



    While Valentin Selaru and fellow judge Iulian Dragomir ruled that the communist prison warden may be sentenced, the third member of the panel of judges, Francisca Vasile, had a separate opinion, and admitted the appeal filed by Alexandru Visinescu, who argued the case against him should have been dropped due to the statute of limitations on the crimes.



    Judge Francisca Vasile: “There is a 22 years and 6 months statute of limitations on those offences, running from January 1, 1990, which expired in July 2012, more than a year before the Institute for Researching Communist-Era Crimes notified the prosecutors. The authorities are therefore to blame for failing to respond in due time, to the effect that criminal liability in this case has ceased to exist.”



    During the trial, Visinescu denied the accusations and said he had simply obeyed orders and the prisoners had died of old age. Alongside Visinescu, historians identified 35 other people responsible for the death of scores of communist political prisoners.



    (Translated by Oana Popescu)

  • “Writers” in prison

    “Writers” in prison

    A genuine book industry has developed in Romanian prisons in recent years as many convicts have suddenly, but not surprisingly, discovered an interest in writing. From politicians, including ministers, parliamentarians and mayors, to businesspeople, magistrates and sports stars, many have taken advantage of a legislative loophole. Law no. 254 from 2013, allows convicts to cut 30 days off their sentences for every scientific paper they publish or every patented invention or innovation. This has given many high profile inmates the possibility to become prolific writers.



    Not only does this piece of legislation allow abuse, it also encourages it, because the reduction in the prison sentence is granted for every published book, its academic value only being vouched for by the stamp of an authorised publisher. Suspicions about the employment of ghost-writers in these cases are only natural given that many of the new published authors did not appear to have any intellectual ideas before going to jail. Indeed, many even lacked basic knowledge of language and grammar.



    Their spectacular metamorphosis, as well as the fact that the number of books published from prison has increased exponentially, has raised some questions among the public and justice officials.



    Justice minister Raluca Pruna herself said she had doubts about the academic nature of these papers. “I will conduct a very serious analysis to see, together with the National Penitentiary Administration, how the law has been applied; if I find that its application has been flawed or that the law has been violated, I wont shy away from action, minister Pruna said. She explained that only one such paper was written from 2007 to 2010, the figure growing to 20 between 2011 and 2013 before exceeding 330 in 2015.



    It appears, however, that things are about to change. A proposal is already on the Senates agenda to amend the law on the execution of prison sentences to repeal the controversial provision. The initiators of the amendment say the current law encourages fraud, not to mention that writing a book in prison does not compensate for its authors antisocial behaviour. It remains to be seen how many such books will still be written by Romanias VIP convicts and, more importantly, what loopholes they will find to obtain an early release from prison.


    (Translated by Cristina Mateescu; Edited by Diana Vijeu)