</s>Duminică au avut loc cele mai ample manifestaţii sociale din România din ultimii 25 de ani. Aproape 100.000 de oameni au protestat, în toate marile oraşe din țara, față de ordonanţele privind graţierea şi modificarea codurilor penale.

Foto: InquamPhotos/Octav Ganea

Actualizare 21:30. Protestul se apropie de final. Oamenii încep să plece spre case, Piața Victoriei eliberându-se încet încet de miile de oameni.

Actualizare 20:40. Piața Victoriei este plină și în continuare ajung oameni. Coada se întinde până la Piața Romană. Ei scandează „Jos Guvernul”, „Dragnea, nu uita, te aşteaptă Laura”, „Hoţii”, „Iliescu lângă Vişinescu”, „Dragnea, nu uita, România nu-i a ta”, „La închisoare, nu la guvernare”, „DNA să vină să vă ia”.

Fotogalerie cu protestele din România

Foto: Inquam Photos/Liviu Florin Albei

Proiectul OUG promovat de Ministerul Justiţiei prevede graţierea integrală a pedepselor de până la cinci ani precum şi jumătate din pedeapsa femeilor gravide, a celor care au în întreţinere copii sub cinci ani, a celor cu vârste de peste 60 de ani, precum şi a celor cu boli incurabile în faze terminale.

Prevederile nu se aplică recidiviştilor, nici celor care s-au sustras executării pedepsei şi nici celor care comit infracţiuni după data de 18 ianuarie 2017. Proiectul prevede că OUG intră în vigoare în 18 februarie 2017.

Proiectul de OUG care modifică prevederi din Codul Penal şi din Codul de Procedură Penală ia în calcul pagubele materiale mai mari de 200.000 de lei în cazul abuzului în serviciu, reducând de la şapte la trei ani de detenţie nivelul maxim al pedepsei şi eliminând sancţiunea cu interdicţia privind ocuparea unei funcţii publice.

În ceea ce priveşte conflictul de interese, printre cei menţionaţi ca beneficiari ai folosului patrimonial de pe urma faptei comise de funcţionarul public nu se vor mai regăsi şi cei cu care acesta a avut raporturi de muncă în ultimii cinci ani. Denunţurile vor fi valabile doar dacă sunt făcute în termen de şase luni de la data comiterii faptei reclamate.

Actualizare 20:00. Sunt 50.000 de manifestanți doar în București. Coada se întinde între Piața Universității și Piața Victoriei. Numărul manifestanților a crescut în Timișoara la 11.000, la Sibiu - 10.000, la Cluj - 10.000.

Actualizare 19:35. Primii manifestanți încep să ajungă din nou în Piața Universității și se îndreaptă către sediul Guvernului, în Piața Victoriei. Sunt peste 30.000 de manifestanți.

Reporterii Digi24 estimează 10.000 de manifestanți și în Cluj-Napoca, iar în Timișoara aproape 8.000 de oameni. În Sibiu se opun ordonanțelor peste 5.000 de oameni, la Iași manifestează 3.000, la Brașov 2.000, iar în Constanța aproximativ 1.000. În celelalte orașe din țară numărul manifestanților este de ordinul sutelor.

Actualizare 19:20. Numărul prostatarilor din București a crescut la peste 30.000. Ei protestează la Ministerul Justiției și CNA, iar primii dintre ei se îndreaptă către Piața Victoriei, la Guvern.

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Actualizare 18:45. Sunt peste 20.000 de oameni în București. Ei se îndreaptă pașnic către Ministerul Justiției, Avocatul Poporului și CNA, toate trei fiind în aceeași zonă. La această oră abia pleacă ultimii oameni din Piața Universității, în timp ce primii oameni se apropie de Bulevardul Libertății.

Sunt circa 10.000 de oameni în Cluj, în jur de 8.000 în Timișoara. În Sibiu manifestează 5.000, iar în Iași sunt circa 2.000-3.000, relatează Digi24 TV.

Sunt sute sau chiar mii de protestatari și în Brașov, Craiova, Alba Iulia, Arad, Pitești, Târgu Mureș, Bacău, Constanța, Buzău ori Galați.

Actualizare 18:30. Peste 35.000 de români protestează în orașele din țară față de ordonanțele de urgență promovate de Guvernul Grindeanu.

Actualizare 18:10. Protestatarii au plecat în marș către Ministerul Justiției și Consiliul Național al Audiovizualului. Sunt cel puțin 15.000 de oameni în București.

Se scandează: „Romania, trezeste-te!”, „România cere: fără grațiere!”, „Demisia!”, „Justiție, nu corupție”, „Antena 3, niște derbedei”, „PSD, ciuma roșie”, „Ieșiți din casă, dacă vă pasă”, „Jos Iordache”, „Jos penalii”, „Referendum”, „Ciorbea, nu uita, România nu te vrea!”, „DNA să vină să vă ia”, „Ciorbea și CNA apără corupția”.

Foto: Dan Mihai Bălănescu

Actualizare 18:00. Traficul a fost blocat la Universitate, în București. Peste 20.000 de oameni protestează.

Actualizare 17:50. Cel puțin 5.000 de oameni s-au strâns la această oră în Piața Universității. În Cluj sunt circa 6.000 de protestatari, în Timișoara sunt peste 2.000. Peste 1.000 sunt în Iași și Sibiu. De asemenea, sute de oameni protestează în Craiova, Alba Iulia, Arad, Pitești, Târgu Mureș, Bacău, Constanța, Buzău sau Galați.

Foto: InquamPhotos/Octav Ganea

Citește și ”Cine l-a convins pe Dragnea să dea înapoi”

Actualizare 17:00. Protestele au început în București și în restul țării. Cel puțin o mie de persoane sunt la această oră în Piața Universității.

Manifestațiile au început și în celelalte orașe. La Sibiu, o mie de oameni s-au strâns în Piața Mare, iar în jurul orei 18:00 vor merge în marș.

Românii au ieșit în stradă și în Cluj, Iași, Timișoara, Craiova sau Arad.

Actualizare 16:30: În Paris, câteva zeci de persoane protestează față de aceste ordonanțe.

Ei au pancarte pe care scrie „Nu amnistiei și grațiere” și „Vrem dreptate. Nu uităm și nu iertăm”.

„Nu vrem demisia Guvernului, vrem să îşi respecte promisiunile pentru care a fost ales. Nu să propună legi aberante care sunt în avantajul unor persoane. Duminică ne strângem la Universitate, începând cu ora 17:00”, se arată în manifestul evenimentului din Bucureşti.

Manifestanţii spun că vor să „viziteze” Guvernul, Ministerul Justiţiei, CNA şi sediul Avocatului Poporului. „Ne strângem la Universitate duminică începand cu ora 17:00. Am observat că unele televiziuni manipulează fără ruşine, iar CNA-ul nu îşi face treaba. Este momentul să îi vizităm. Apoi mergem la Ministerul Justiției, iar pe drum, ne vizităm avocatul. Avem un avocat al poporului care nu lucrează pentru noi. Îl vrem plecat. La final, mergem la guvern”, se arată într-un eveniment organizat pe Facebook.

Manifestaţiile vor avea loc cu o zi înainte ca Ministerul Justiţiei să organizeze o dezbatere publică pe tema proiectelor privind graţierea şi modificarea legilor penale.

Proteste au avut loc şi duminică trecută, atât în Capitală, cât şi în mai multe oraşe din ţară.

La protestul din Bucureşti au participat peste 20.000 de oameni, care au mers în marş din Piaţa Universităţii în Piaţa Victoriei şi apoi la sediul PSD din Kiseleff. În Piaţa Universităţii s-a aflat, timp de aproximativ 15 minute, şi preşedintele Klaus Iohannis, care a spus că este inadmisibil să fie schimbate legile în modul în care se intenţionează şi că oamenii au de ce să fie indignaţi.

(sursa: News.ro)</s>BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Thousands of people marched through Romania's capital and other cities to protest a government proposal to pardon thousands of prisoners.

Protesters massed in Bucharest's University Square on Sunday said the move would set back anti-corruption efforts in Romania and called the ruling Social Democratic Party "the red plague."

Premier Sorin Grindeanu has requested an emergency ordinance allowing the government to pardon prisoners to ease prison overcrowding.

Critics say the proposal would benefit party allies convicted of corruption. Romania's top prosecutor has criticized the plan.

It would primarily affect people serving sentences of less than five years, except those convicted of sexual or violent crimes.

Prisoners over age 60, pregnant women and inmates with young children would see their sentences halved regardless of the charges on which they were convicted.</s>BUCHAREST, Romania — Some 10,000 people marched through Romania's capital and other cities on Sunday to protest a government proposal to pardon thousands of prisoners, a move critics said would set back anti-corruption efforts.

Protesters massed in Bucharest's University Square called the ruling Social Democratic Party "the red plague." They later marched to Victory Square, where the government has its main offices.

Premier Sorin Grindeanu has requested an emergency ordinance allowing the government to pardon prisoners to ease prison overcrowding. On Sunday, he said the protests had been "politicized" and criticized President Klaus Iohannis, who took part in a similar protest a week ago.

Critics say the proposal would benefit party allies convicted of corruption. Romania's top prosecutor has criticized the plan.

It would primarily affect people serving sentences of less than five years, except those convicted of sexual or violent crimes.

Prisoners over age 60, pregnant women and inmates with young children would see their sentences halved regardless of the charges on which they were convicted.

According to a draft of the proposal, the government also intends to decriminalize official misconduct that involves financial damage valued at less than 200,000 lei ($47,800.)

The government says its proposal would lead to the release of 2,500 prisoners. Prison authorities estimate 3,700 would be freed.

Along with Bucharest, protests were held in the Cluj, Timisoara and more than a dozen cities around Romania.</s>BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania's president has urged the government to scrap a proposal to pardon thousands of prisoners, a move which has led to massive anti-government protests.

President Klaus Iohannis spoke after tens of thousands of people marched through Romania's capital and other cities on Sunday to protest the initiative, which critics say could reverse anti-corruption efforts.

Premier Sorin Grindeanu has requested an emergency ordinance allowing the government to pardon prisoners to ease prison overcrowding.

Iohannis posted a message on Facebook Monday, urging the government to drop the initiative, saying "the voice of the people can no longer be ignored."

Critics say the proposal could benefit party allies convicted of corruption. Romania's top prosecutor has criticized the plan.</s>Thousands of people marched through the Romanian capital of Bucharest and other cities to protest government plans to pardon corrupt politicians and decriminalize other offenses.

Protesters gathered in Bucharest's University Square on January 29, calling the ruling Social Democratic Party "the red plague," the Associated Press reported. They marched on to Victory Square, the site of many of the government’s main offices.

News reports put the total number of protesters at 10,000 to 40,000. No official figures were available.

Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu has said he wants emergency authority to pardon prisoners to ease prison overcrowding.

On January 29, he said the protests had been "politicized" and criticized President Klaus Iohannis, who took part in a similar protest last week.

Iohannis, the prosecutor-general, the Supreme Court, and special prosecutors fighting organized crime have criticized the plan.

The draft decrees have concerned some people who complain about a lack of transparency and of legislating through decrees instead of through parliament.

Critics have also said Grindeanu's proposal would benefit party allies convicted of corruption.

The government says its proposal would lead to the release of 2,500 prisoners. Prison authorities put the number at around 3,700.

Based on reporting by AP, Reuters and AFP</s>BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania's president urged the government on Monday to scrap a proposal to pardon thousands of prisoners, a move which has led to massive anti-government protests.

President Klaus Iohannis spoke after tens of thousands of people marched through Romania's capital and other cities on Sunday to protest the initiative, which critics say could reverse anti-corruption efforts.

It was the third large-scale protest to erupt in Romanian cities after Premier Sorin Grindeanu requested an emergency ordinance allowing the government to pardon prisoners to ease prison overcrowding.

On Monday, Iohannis posted a message on Facebook, urging the government again to drop the initiative, and said: "The voice of the people can no longer be ignored."

The German embassy in Bucharest said Monday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to Iohannis on Friday, saying "diluting the anti-corruption fight and making the rule of law a relative thing" would send "an absolutely wrong signal."

Critics say the proposal could benefit party allies convicted of corruption including the chairman of the ruling Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, who was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence for vote rigging in April 2016, which bans him from being prime minister, something he calls unfair

Romania's top prosecutor has also criticized the plan, which magistrates say should be debated in Parliament. It would primarily affect people serving sentences of less than five years, except those convicted of sexual or violent crimes.

Prisoners over age 60, pregnant women and inmates with young children would see their sentences halved regardless of the charges on which they were convicted.

The government says its proposal would lead to the release of 2,500 prisoners. Prison authorities estimate 3,700 prisoners could be released.</s>BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania’s president urged the government on Monday to scrap a proposal to pardon thousands of prisoners, a move which has led to major anti-government protests.

President Klaus Iohannis spoke after tens of thousands of people marched through Romania’s capital and other cities on Sunday to protest the initiative, which critics say could reverse anti-corruption efforts.

It was the third large-scale protest to erupt in Romanian cities after Premier Sorin Grindeanu requested an emergency ordinance allowing the government to pardon prisoners to ease prison overcrowding.

Iohannis posted a message on Facebook on Monday, urging the government again to drop the initiative, and said: “The voice of the people can no longer be ignored.”

Justice Minister Florin Iordache defended the proposal, saying it was meant to improve the situation in prisons, adding the government would modify its initial proposal to eliminate unclear passages. He denied the measure was designed to benefit politicians, a number of which have been targeted by the anti-corruption drive in recent years.

“I want to make it clear that neither rapists nor murderers, not those accused of corruption will benefit,” he said.

The German Embassy in Bucharest said Monday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to Iohannis on Friday, saying “diluting the anti-corruption fight and making the rule of law a relative thing” would send “an absolutely wrong signal.”

Critics say the proposal could benefit party allies convicted of corruption, including the chairman of the ruling Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea. He was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence for vote rigging in April 2016, which bans him from being prime minister, something he calls unfair.

Romania’s top prosecutor has also criticized the plan, which magistrates say should be debated in Parliament. It would primarily affect people serving sentences of less than five years, except those convicted of sexual or violent crimes.

Prisoners over age 60, pregnant women and inmates with young children would see their sentences halved regardless of the charges on which they were convicted.

Prison authorities estimate 3,700 prisoners could be released, while the justice minister said Monday up to 3,000 could be freed.</s>Tens of thousands of Romanians protested in Bucharest and other main cities on Sunday against government’s plans to decriminalise certain offences and pardon convicts through emergency decrees that could hurt an anti-graft drive.

The plans unveiled earlier this month by the social democrat government have been criticised by President Klaus Iohannis, by the prosecutor general, the Supreme Court, the chief anti-corruption prosecutor, civil rights groups and diplomats.

The police said about 50,000 people took part in the rally in Bucharest, making it the biggest demonstration in a recent wave of protests.

Shouting “Thieves, thieves”, protesters gathered in freezing weather in the capital’s main square Piata Universitatii and then rallied outside the justice ministry, the ombudsman’s office and the government’s headquarters.

According to the drafts, the government intends to decriminalise abuse of power actions causing financial damage of less than 200,000 lei ($47,500).

Abuse of power accounts for a third of anti-corruption investigations. The ruling leftist Social Democrats’ leader Liviu Dragnea is at present on trial in an abuse of power case. Dragnea, who received a two-year suspended jail sentence for a 2012 referendum-rigging conviction, has branded the recent street protests an attempted coup.

“I am here because I can’t believe that 27 years have passed and I find myself in the same place in the same square,” said actress Adriana Moca, recalling the eruption of the 1989 anti-communist revolution in Bucharest.

Thousands of people also protested in main cities in the country and in several European Union capitals.

On Monday, justice minister Florin Iordache will hold a round of public consultations over the plan - on which the country’s top panel of magistrates has already issued a non-binding, negative opinion.

Protesters shouted anti-government slogans and asked for the resignation of the justice minister, chanting: “Stop corruption,”, “No pardons, yes schools and hospitals,” and backed President Iohannis’s calls for a nationwide referendum to step up the anti-corruption fight.

The government is also seeking to pardon convicts sentenced to less than five years for committing certain crimes, and cut sentences by half for all prisoners aged over 60, and those having a terminal illness, regardless of their crime.

President Iohannis on his Facebook page on Friday said German chancellor Angela Merkel, whom he had a telephone discussion at her initiative said: “The chancellor expressed full support for efforts to maintain progress made by our country, but she expressed concern that certain steps initiated during this period do not affect the fight against corruption in Romania.”

The European commission keeps Romania’s legal system under special monitoring. It has praised magistrates’ efforts to fight widespread graft, but noted Romanian politicians have a history of trying to pass legislation which could weaken investigative powers.</s>The President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Guido Raimondi, says that the number of cases that reached the Court after complaints from Romania have been submitted, has doubled in the last year, many of them being caused by the prison conditions. For this reason, he recommends Romania to take similar legislative measures to those from Italy, where some prisoners had their sentences reduced, and for others, the sentence has been commuted to house arrest, with surveillance bracelets.

In a speech held at Strasbourg on the occasion of the new judicial year of the European Court of Human Rights, the President of the institution stated: “after a two-year reduction in the number of incoming cases, in 2016 we saw for the first time in several years a 32% increase in the number of new cases. This influx is to be explained by the situation in three countries: Hungary, Romania and Turkey”.

“Firstly, with regard to Hungary and Romania, for which the number of cases increased by 95% and 108% respectively in 2016, these essentially concern issues related to conditions of detention. Admittedly, these are priority cases, since they come under Article 3 of the Convention, but they are repetitive cases which reflect systemic or structural difficulties and require that solutions be found at domestic level”, Guido Raimondi explained.

He underlined “that no immediate miracle cure exists for these situations, either in the country concerned, for which resolving this issue implies considerable political and budgetary measures, or in Strasbourg”.

“This is possible, as is demonstrated by the example of Italy, for which the number of cases has been more than halved in two and a half years. This is the result of the Italian Government’s policy, firstly in response to the Torreggiani pilot judgment (e.n – on prison conditions), which concerned prison overcrowding, and secondly, with regard to the length of proceedings. This shows that where a Government has the will to resolve a situation and takes the necessary measures, the results quickly follow.

The measures taken by Italy

Guido Raimondi referred to a series of measures taken by Italy after the pilot decision of 2013, by the so-called decree “Empty prisons”, that partially solved the issue of the prison conditions. Thus, early release, decided by judges, has been established for approx. 1,700 detainees, by reducing their sentences by 75 days for each 6 months spent in prison in the case of the prisoners with good behavior, parole has been established with a ceiling increased to 4 years of remained prison, as well as special parole for drug and alcohol addicts, if they spend the probation period in rehabilitation centers.

Moreover, Italy has widened the scope of the house arrest for approx. 12,000 detainees who had to spend no more than one year and a half in prison.

Italy has also expelled the detainees of other nationalities, requesting the sentence to be executed in their home country. At the same time, the officials from the Peninsula immediately started to build new prisons and they reduced the use of remand.

Another series of detainees have been released when the Italian Constitutional Court decided to reject a law that criminalized marijuana consumption and trafficking at the same level with the cocaine and heroin.

As far as Romania is concerned, it is known that the GEO bills on pardon and amending Criminal Code initiated by the Justice Ministry have caused so far high controversies in politics and society, street protests to which President Klaus Iohannis also attended for a short time. The Head of the State was present for about 15 minutes at the demonstration from University Square held on January 22 to which more than 20,000 people have attended, and said that it’s unacceptable to amend the laws in the manner in which it is intended to, and that people have reasons to be indignant.

“A gang of politicians having criminal problems want to amend the Romanian law, they want to weaken the rule of law. But this is not acceptable. It is unacceptable for the law to be amended and dozens, hundreds of politicians with legal problems, have clean files and to continue commit trespass. Romanians are right to be indignant” Iohannis said.

Other tens of thousands of people protested in several cities.

President’s gesture to attend an unauthorized demonstration was harshly criticized by the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Liviu Dragnea, who accused him of initiating a new “mineriad”. After the demonstration of the last Sunday from the University Square, Dragnea stated that President Klaus Iohannis placed himself outside the law, that his participation at the unauthorized meeting is a start of a coup, and he assured that he will not allow the head of state to overturn the constitutional order, to usurp official capacities by abusively entering in the Government’s sessions or to instigate to social disorder and violence.

On the other hand, PSD leader Liviu Dragnea stated on Thursday that he “didn’t get exactly what the Government wants to in the matter of the ordinances on pardon and amending Criminal Codes”.

Klaus Iohannis “twisted” after the discussions with the ECHR officials: Pardon is only a possible solution

President Klaus Iohannis went to the ECHR last Tuesday, asking for a standpoint from the Presidents of the Court and of the Venice Commission, related to pardon and prison conditions. After meeting them, the Head of State mentionied that fining Romania on this ground is not in question now. He said that the amount of EUR 80 million invoked as fine is the result of a calculation “made on the table’s corner”. Iohannis added that the matter of pardon can be approached only within a wider package of measures related to the prison system that Romania has to implement.

“Pardon can possibly be a small part of the package of solutions, but it isn’t the solution. This is what all of those who are nervous about pardon have to understand. The issue was put totally wrong at home. I don’t exclude pardon, but it can’t be made for politicians. It’s an absurdity. Pardon makes sense in this package if the pardoned ones are those from prison, not those from Parliament waiting for pardon” stated the President, in total contradiction with his vehement position against pardon which he had before going to Strasbourg.

“So pardon is only a possible solution, a small part of the whole package that has to be designed by us” Klaus Iohannis underlined.

Before going to Strasbourg, the Head of State announced that a referendum on pardon will be held

Before going to Strasbourg for meeting the officials of the Council of Europe and ECHR, President Klaus Iohannis announced last Tuesday that a referendum on the judiciary laws will be held, stating that there’s a wide interest on amending the Criminal Codes and on pardon, and people have to decide on these issues.

“These days, protest took place, people came out in the street indignant, to protest against this attempt to amend the criminal laws by GEO. I heard all kinds of absurdities, right after people came out in the street. Nervous activists and agitators fled to the obedient TV channels to explain to people that this is a coup. A coup made by citizens? No, politicians are those who make the coup, but they don’t make a coup, they give the final blow to the rule of law” Iohannis stated.

President announced that, as a result, he will initiate the procedures for a referendum on the subject of the two GEOs on pardon and amending the Criminal Code.

Constitution provides that President can call people to a referendum, but he has to consult Parliament also. Deputies and senators have to express their opinion by voting, in a joint session, and they have 20 calendar days from the President’s request. But if they don’t meet the 20-day deadline, the head of state can issue the decree on organizing the referendum. Parliament’s point of view is advisory.

Justice Minister wants Government to assume responsibility for pardon

GEOs on pardon and amending Criminal Codes will not be definitively withdrawn. After the public consultations scheduled for Monday, Justice Minister Florin Iordache will announce the form in which they will be adopted: GEO, Government accountability or law. Iordache stated for Digi24 that he will personally announce the decision, and as far as he’s concerned, he would prefer them to be adopted by Government accountability.

Therefore, these bills which caused many negative reactions and scandals in society, culminating in protests in several cities, and which made more than 20,000 people from Bucharest to go out in the street on January 22, could have a different form starting from Monday January 30. It’s very likely for them to turn into a package of laws on judiciary. This package could also include provisions related to the modernization of the penitentiaries.

The Government accountability involves submitting the law or the legislative package to Parliament. If no censure motion is submitted, or if it is submitted but it isn’t adopted, the Government’s responsibility is deemed to be assumed. The opposition announced its intention to submit a no-confidence motion, but it doesn’t have the necessary force to make it be adopted.

Public debate regarding the GEOs on pardon and Criminal Code in a room with 50 seats

Justice Minister will held on Monday, January 30, a public debate regarding the GEO bills on pardon and amending Criminal Codes, but the room where discussions will take place has only 50 seats.

The representatives of the Justice Ministry say that everyone is free to attend to this debate. There will be three minutes allocated to each participant, including the associations invited to attend to the discussion.

“The debate is organized pursuant to Art.7 para. (9) of the Law no.52/2003 on the decisional transparency in public administration, republished”, states a press release of the Justice Ministry.

Florin Iordache: Murderers and rapists over 60 years will not get out of prison. Where the new penitentiaries will be built

Justice Minister Florin Iordache stated on Saturday that, following the implementation of the GEOs on pardon and amending Criminal Codes, murderers and rapists over 60 years will not get out of prison, mentioning that there will also be additional measures, including for the reinsertion of those who will be released.

Iordache explained that two new penitentiaries will start to be built in 2017, in Caracal and Berceni, adding that the detention unit from Caracal could have been built since 2005, if the Justice Minister at that time, Monica Macovei, wouldn’t have renounced to a grant provided by the Austrian authorities.

Justice Minister stated that, following the debates that took place until now, certain provisions of the GEOs on pardon and amending Criminal Codes have been removed, mentioning that rapists or murderers over 60 years will not get out of prison.

“Rapists, murderers and those who came with serious sentences are excluded even if they are aged more than 60. Those expression in the Article 4 para.2 is removed. So, don’t be afraid. We started from a bill that existed in Romania, the last law on pardon was given in 2002. It’s not a miracle solution if 3,000 prisoners of 28,000 get out of prison, we have to take other measures” stated Iordache for Antena 3.

Justice Minister added he talked to the Labor Minister, Lia Olguta Vasilescu, to find solutions related to the reinsertion of the former detained persons in society and on the labor market. An option is to provide the employers with facilities if they hire persons released from prison.

Florin Iordache explained, in the support of the necessity to adopt a package of laws which would solve the problem of the overcrowded prisons, that he saw, during his visits in penitentiaries, people with faces tumefied by the bites of ticks, and there are cases of rooms of 16 square meters with 20 detainees per room.

The Minister also said that two penitentiaries will start to be built this year at Caracal and Berceni, but their completion will last five years. Iordache mentioned that the Caracal penitentiary, whose construction was approved in 2004, could have been built starting from 2005, if the Justice Minister of that time, Monica Macovei, wouldn’t have renounced to a grant provided by the Austrian state to this end.

On November 8, 2016, asked if the Caracal penitentiary will continue to be built, former Justice Minister Raluca Pruna stated that it will not be made because the Ministry of Defense doesn’t agree with it, given that it’s too close to the Deveselu military base. Instead of it, Pruna stated at that time that a penitentiary in the Berceni Commune near Ploiesti will be built.

“The Prosecutor General doesn’t say if a law is good or bad. He applies it”

Florin Iordache criticized the Prosecutor General of Romania, Augustin Lazar, for the reason that in the last period he commented on the laws, forgetting that the role of the Prosecutor is to apply laws, while making them, is the Parliament’s attribution. “In the end, the Parliament is the one that makes the laws in Romania, and the one that amends them. In the last period, I saw state bodies who comment about laws. I saw the Prosecutor General saying if a law is good or bad. Prosecutor has to apply the law. Parliament is the one who makes the laws” said the Justice Minister.

“The law on the magistrates’ liability is part of the package of the judiciary laws, we’re talking about the Laws no.303, 304 and 317. By February 15, CSM (The Superior Council of Magistracy – e.n.) has a deadline to reanalyze them, because they were designed by the former CSM. Justice Ministry will undoubtedly have its own remarks on these laws, and they will reach the Parliament” Iordache added.

The Prosecutor attached to the Supreme Court, led by Augustin Lazar, sent on January 25 to the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) a critical point of view related to the GEOs on pardon and amending the Criminal code, initiated by the Justice Ministry, appreciating that adopting these regulations in emergency regime could have the result of seriously making state institutions vulnerable towards criminality.

UDMR’s Kelemen says Gov’t decision to amend Criminal Code through ordinances wrong

The government standing to amend through Emergency Ordinances (OUG) the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, is wrong, on Saturday said in central Targu Mures the president of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR, opposition) Kelemen Hunor, at the Council of Union Representatives (CRU).

Kelemen Hunor added, according to the official translation, that every time an amendment was made ‘by by-passing’ the Parliament, ‘issues occurred.’

First of all, it is about the matters regarding the Criminal Code and teh Criminal Procedure Code (…) I’d like to travel a bit in the past. When these codes were adopted by assuming responsibility and with Emergency Ordinance by a Government, it has always led to problems. (…) This standing of the current government to modify the codes through OUG is wrong because every time a government did that, and by-passed the Parliament, issues appeared. We have a proposition: both codes to be amended in accordance with the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR), in the Parliament. There is grounds allowing us to address each problematic issue, each decision by the CCR, all the matters the EU too is requesting from us as part of the harmonisation of the law, two weeks, two months if necessary we have to debate to behave like a Parliament and analyse and finalise this matter. Not through ordinances, not by assuming responsibility, said Kelemen Hunor.

As regards the pardon, Kelemen Hunor said that this government should not have started its ruling with the pardon topic, adding that the Executive has had a ‘wrong’ approach on this matter.

I know that what I say is not nice, on pardon, but this is not about the people and the convicts, but about the state, the state is granting the pardon, there is no referendum on the fiscal policy pardon, amnesty, budget and international relationship, because such things cannot be decided through referendum. If you ask the people, the people will ask for the death penalty. Last time in 1990, when Valeriu Stoica was the Justice Minister, a collective amnesty was granted. If the state at some point, if the Parliament endorse a pardon law, then I believe it would be wrongdoing, or if the president pardons individually, then it is possible, but such a thing could not be done through ordinances and assuming responsibility, no matter how strange that might sound to you, the Parliament must endorse a law accordingly,” said Kelemen Hunor.

He added that nobody could talk reasonably on pardon, and yet in the Parliament a rational debate could take place, and that a lot of people take the pardon with amnesty, willingly or not.

At the same time, Kelemen Hunor said that the laws regarding the national security need corrections, because the legal framework could leave place to ‘interpretations.’

The law package on the national security needs corrections because in the past weeks, months I’ve seen how many things surface. It turned out that there is a possibility for the legal framework to be interpreted and this could lead to sentences behind which no exact accusations could be perceived. When the Prosecutor’s Office today, due to the court’s forbidding it, uses no more the wiretapping made by the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) in the criminal cases, it doesn’t speak the truth. If only we look into the Ana Horvath case we see it is about wiretapping that makes the indictment or the grounds of some criminal procedures. I have no reason whatsoever to believe that in some cases it is valid and in others it is not,” said Kelemen Hunor, according to the official translation.

Dragnea: “I don’t build my hopes up that they will issue some ordinances and I’ll slip out from the system’s grasp”

The Social Democratic Party (PSD) Chairman Liviu Dragnea on Friday sent a public message to the PM Sorin Grindeanu regarding the GEOs on pardon and amending the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code. “I don’t build my hopes up that they will issue some ordinances and I’ll slip out from the system’s grasp”, Liviu Dragnea said.

Liviu Dragnea made new statements on the two ordinances on the judiciary, after he stated on Thursday, for Digi24, that he didn’t know about them, since he was left in the USA.

“I’m waiting something from the Government in this matter, and generally related to all the initiatives. When they plan to do something, they have to be determined, clear and very accurate and rigorous. I’m waiting to see if they decide something to this end. I saw it’s said that they are made for me. I’m not interested, no matter of what provisions will be included in those ordinances, files can be prepared for me one after another, anyway. I don’t build my hopes up that they will issue some ordinances and I’ll slip out from the system’s grasp. I don’t believe such a thing, because the stake is very high” Liviu Dragnea claimed, adding that the objectives of the electoral campaign are assumed.

“One of the objectives remains to protect judges from being influenced by any institution or by any person, no matter of its position in the Romanian state, and to improve the quality of the judicial infrastructure”, PSD chairman added.

Liviu Dragnea also said that no one made any criticism on other occasions “when dozens of amendments of the Criminal Code have been adopted by GEO, violating the Constitution. The rights have been affected there, because punishments have been increased”.

Being asked if these ordinances will be assumed by Government accountability, Liviu Dragnea answered that he is not an “opinionist”. “I assume what I say. I am very interested and very curious to see the Government’s position in this matter, position 1, position 2, position 3, but a position that all of us can understand” he said.

Regarding his statement according to which he takes responsibility for the government of this period, Liviu Dragnea said that these ordinances are not negative.

“Did I say that they are negative? No, I didn’t! Taking a decision is more important than not taking one. Either you adopt them, or you don’t, or you make a law. They have to take a decision at some point. I take the whole responsibility, that’s why I am very interested. I don’t want to talk more than needed regarding the Government’s activity, it’s enough” stated the PSD leader.

PM Grindeanu: I plan to have a discussion with President of ECHR in next period

Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu stated on Sunday, on the Antena 3 private television station, that he plans to have a meeting with the President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the upcoming period, in order to make a “clear picture” in the context of discussions in Romania regarding pardon.

“I plan in the following period to have a discussion and to go to the ECHR. To have a talk with the President of the ECHR, because it is necessary to make a clear picture, even if currently I have a lot of information, but it’s necessary to make a “real picture,” Grindeanu stated.

He mentioned that such a meeting is “absolutely necessary.”

“I have seen the President’s statement in the plenary meeting and the recommendation he made to Romania and Hungary in order to adopt the example of Italy, stating (…) that it’s related to the internal politics of each member state,” the Prime Minister added.

He reiterated the fact that “pardon alone doesn’t solving the problem, but an entire package of measures, which the Justice Ministry has the duty to present in the shortest time possible.”
In the largest protest since the 1989 Revolution, more than 90,000 people march through Romania's capital and other cities against a government proposal to pardon thousands of prisoners.