Prison commission OKs former Romanian PM's early release: he wrote two books, a scientific paper

Former Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase (in picture, middle), who is currently serving a two-year jail sentence in Romania, wrote a scientific paper and two books in the seven months since he's been in prison. This helped him earn the green light from the prison for early release, which will be decided on February 12. The former PM's lawyers have asked for the date to be brought forward. According to the authorities, Nastase's conduct in prison has been good. He took part in education and psychology assistance, and got involved in training activities and positively influenced the other inmates, according to the report of the jail commission. He also constantly updated his blog. Writing the scientific paper and getting involved in the educational activities earned him 342 credits and three internal rewards. The former PM was never sanctioned on discipline issues. His good behavior got him a 45 days cut from his jail time. The former PM also attended nine debates and a conference organized for the inmates. One of the debates was even on political issues. He also took five sessions on the eLearning platform, which are a standard for inmates, as well as a family life education program and a program to develop his skills. After years of legal wrangling, former PM Adrain Nastase was given a definitive two year jail sentence by the Romanian Supreme Court back in June 2012. There was drama when police came to take him to prison, with Nastase being rushed to hospital after an unsuccessful suicide attempt. Following his recovery, he was sent to the Jilava prison to serve his sentence. The former PM was found guilty of having financed his election campaigns with funds collected for the symposium ‘Quality Trophy’, organized by the State Inspectorate for Quality in Construction in 2004. Participation fees for the symposium in 2004, totaling EUR 1.6 million, went to four companies, controlled by two members of Nastase’s entourage. Adrian Nastase, a former leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), served as PM when the PSD were in power between 2000 and 2004. The trial lasted over three years and involved 900 witnesses and 48 court hearings. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Nastase's Facebook page)