European chief prosecutor Laura Codruța Kovesi, the former head of Romania's National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), said she was “shocked” by the revelations made by magistrates in the Recorder documentary ‘Captured Justice,' released on December 9.

The media investigation, which fueled major street protests in Romania, details how a structure coordinated and controlled through alleged benefits and penalties handed out by High Court president Lia Savonea and her allies led to the capture of the entire judicial system over the past year. According to Recorder, a small group took advantage of the power vested in the heads of courts to legally free high-profile politicians and businessmen, some of them already with a final sentence.

Laura Codruța Kovesi commented on the issue during the ‘Friendly Fire’ podcast posted on YouTube. The prosecutor expressed concern about the independence and reputation of the judiciary, seeing as after the publication of the Recorder video investigation, the section for judges of the Superior Council of Magistracy notified the Judicial Inspection to conduct checks, without specifying their scope or purpose. Some magistrates accused that the Inspection is being used as an instrument of intimidation.

At the same time, the CSM's section for prosecutors asked the Inspection to also verify the activity of Marius Voineag, the current chief prosecutor of the DNA.

The head of the EPPO condemned the “tactics of intimidation, silencing, manipulation, disinformation” that the heads of the justice system turned to after the documentary. “I have the feeling that this is something systemic. I cannot say whether it is a criminal group,” she added. 

Kovesi also emphasized that the statute of limitations is a problem in the Romanian justice system. “When you see clear wiretaps, in which bribes are discussed, and then you see that nothing happens because of the statute of limitations, what is the message we want to send? That is why I said I was shocked,” she said. 

The EPPO head said she decided to sign the letter of support along with 800 magistrates in Romania after she saw the statements of judge Raluca Moroșanu, who stepped forward during a press release last week to reveal the problems at the Bucharest Court of Appeal. 

“We need a serious debate; it is not enough to say that the system must regulate itself internally. Maybe the law needs to be changed, I don’t know. That is how we solve it, not by attacking prosecutors and judges who took a stand,” Kovesi argued.

During the same podcast, Laura Codruța Kovesi said that Romania has “the highest number of shell companies” in Europe. These companies are involved in complex schemes that include exports from “the port of Constanța.”

Kovesi also denied any interest in running for political office and said her entire focus went to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in recent years. “I built an institution from scratch, and I negotiated with each of the 24 states where we have offices. I believe that through this position, I represented Romania with pride and contributed to a strong and fair Europe. Now I am concerned about the insecurity and the threats around us,” she said.

Laura Codruța Kovesi was the prosecutor general of Romania between 2006 and 2012, chief prosecutor of the DNA between 2013 and 2018, and since October 2019, she has been the prosecutor general of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). Her mandate will end on October 30 next year.

The same day the podcast featuring the head of the EPPO went live, about 300 people again gathered in Bucharest in front of the government building in Victory Square to protest against the problems in the justice system highlighted in the Recorder documentary. The protest was organized by the Declic community, Funky Citizens, Corupția Ucide, and Inițiativa România, under the slogan ‘Bolojan, Romania is calling you!’, addressing prime minister Ilie Bolojan directly, according to Euronews Romania.

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: belish | Dreamstime.com)