Dubbed Romania's most powerful politician, Liviu Dragnea has been jailed for 3 1/2 years following a Supreme Court ruling. The decision came after Dragnea's PSD party suffered huge losses in the EU elections.
Image: picture-alliance/V.Ghirda
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Romania's Supreme Court on Monday upheld a corruption conviction and a 3 1/2-year prison sentence against ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD) leader Liviu Dragnea.
Dragnea, 56, had appealed the 2018 guilty verdict, handed down for using his influence to procure fake public jobs for two women who were actually working for the PSD at the time. He was expected to be imprisoned within 24 hours of the Supreme Court ruling.
According to prosecutors, Dragnea intervened from 2008 to 2010, when he was a government official, to keep the women employed by his party on the payroll of the family welfare agency. The women admitted working for the party while they received wages from the public agency.
He has already been blocked from serving as prime minster because of a prior conviction for vote-rigging, but he was considered the country's de facto leader and the true power behind Prime Minister Viorica Dancila.
A third defeat
The verdict came on the heels of a huge defeat for Dragnea's party in the European Parliament elections. The PSD party finished second to its opposition rivals, the National Liberal Party (PNL), after collecting just 23.4% of the vote, a 14.2 percentage point drop from the 2014 vote.
Additionally, a referendum on the government's controversial judicial reforms — held alongside the EU election — won support from 80% of voters on Sunday. The referendum, an attempt by President Klaus Iohannis to block the reforms, is not legally binding, but the overwhelming support for the initiative dealt a blow to Dancila.
The Romanian prime minister's justice reforms are widely seen as watering down anti-corruption measures and tailored to keep Dragnea and other corrupt politicians out of prison.
Mass protests in Romania
More than 200,000 Romanians took part in an anti-corruption demonstration in February 2017. It was the biggest protest in the country since the fall of communism in Romania in 1989.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Pungovski
2017 rallies in the capital
Demonstrators joined several rallies in the capital Bucharest in February last year to protest against the government for decriminalizing certain corruption offences. The country's left-wing government adopted an emergency law to make abuse of power punishable only when it concerns sums that exceed 200,000 lei (44,000 euros)
Image: Reuters/Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea
Crowds hit the streets
Protesters set fire to street signs during scuffles with police. The government claims the new laws were necessary to bring the eastern European country's criminal code in line with recent constitutional court rulings.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/dpa/V. Ghirda
Police firing tear gas
Protesters say the proposed changes would be a blow to anti-corruption drives in Romania that have been ongoing for several years. Some demonstrators hurled bottles, firecrackers and stones at security forces, who responded by firing tear gas.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/dpa/V. Ghirda
Nationwide riots
Hundreds of thousands of protesters braved freezing temperatures in cities across the country. President Klaus Iohanis called the adoption of the law "a day of mourning for the rule of law ... which has received a grave blow from the enemies of justice."
Image: Reuters/Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea
Riot police called out
Four police and two demonstrators sustained minor injuries after protests turned violent in front of the Romanian parliament, police said. Twenty protesters were arrested and a number of Molotov cocktails were seized, according to a police statement.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Mihailescu
Protest in front of the government headquarters
Between 200,000 and 300,000 demonstrators were reported to have turned out. Many shouted "Thieves!" and called on the government to step down in the light of the emergency decree.
