Court rejects former Romanian Social Democrat leader’s jail release request

Romania's High Court of Cassation and Justice (HCCJ) rejected on Monday, May 25, the appeal filed by former Social Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea against the execution of his jail sentence, Hotnews.ro reported.

The decision is final.

Dragnea requested to be released from the jail, arguing that he was illegally detained because the judges that had sentenced him were not specialized in corruption cases.

At the beginning of the year, he filed an appeal, rejected by the court on January 30. He then challenged the decision at the panel of five judges of the Supreme Court.

In the request submitted to the court, Dragnea's lawyers argued that their client was imprisoned illegally. They said the panel of 3 judges from the High Court who convicted Dragnea was not specialized in judging acts of corruption.

The lawyers thus invoked a decision of the Constitutional Court from October 2019. On May 27, 2019, the High Court sentenced Liviu Dragnea to 3 years and six months in prison for instigating abuse of office.

The case was related to the fictitious employment of two persons in the direction for social assistance and child protection (DGASPC) in Teleorman county.

The institution, which was under Dragnea's authority at that time, paid the two persons although they didn't work there but at the PSD office in Teleorman.

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