Media investigation claims extensive plagiarism in Romanian justice minister’s doctoral thesis

Update: The Social Democratic Party (PSD) said in an official reaction that it fully supports justice minister Radu Marinescu,dismissing the plagiarism allegations as a politically motivated attack. PSD said the claims emerged immediately after Marinescu stated that appointments to top prosecutor posts would not be politically influenced. The party argued that his doctoral thesis was already validated by the doctoral committee and the CNATDCU, and reaffirmed its unconditional political backing for the minister.

Initial story: Romania’s Social Democrat (PSD) justice minister, Radu Marinescu, is facing plagiarism accusations after an investigation published by PressOne claimed that more than half of his doctoral thesis in Law contains copied material. The analysis, authored by investigative journalist Emilia Șercan, found that 140 pages out of the 247-page dissertation are plagiarized. In his turn, the minister rejected the claims, questioning the timing of the allegations.