Former Romanian president’s brother gets early prison release

Mircea Basescu, former Romanian president Traian Basescu’s brother, was released conditionally yesterday, following a final decision of the Constanta court. In mid-July, the Medgidia court decided that Mircea Basescu could be released conditionally. However, anti-corruption prosecutors challenged the sentence, so the former president’s brother had to remain in prison for two more months. Mircea Basescu was sentenced last summer to four years in prison for influence peddling. He is charged with receiving EUR 250,000 to intervene with magistrates to resolve a lawsuit that targeted Sandu Anghel, a local underworld leader also known as Bercea Mondial (Bercea the Global). Mircea Basescu stayed in arrest for 860 days, including a period of home arrest, out of the total of 1,461 prison days he should have served. editor@romania-insider.com