Protests for justice, for the fourth day in a row. Demonstration announced on Saturday in Piața Victoriei / Similar actions in the rest of the country and in the diaspora
Protest for the independence of justice, Piața Victoriei, December 12. Photo: Adelina Mărăcine/HotNews
The protests triggered by the publication of the documentary “Captured Justice”, made by the Recorder, continue on Saturday, for the fourth consecutive day. In Bucharest, the demonstrators are expected from 18:30 in Piața Victoriei, according to the organizers. Similar actions are announced in other cities in the country, as well as in the diaspora.
According to a message sent by the Declic organization, protests are scheduled on Saturday in Cluj-Napoca, in front of the Court of Appeal, from 6:30 p.m., in Iasi, in Piața Unirii, from 7:00 p.m., in Craiova, in front of the Court, from 5:00 p.m., as well as in London, in Parliament Square, from 4:00 p.m.
“We'll see you on Saturday, December 13, at 6:30 p.m., in Piața Victoriei!”, the organizers of the event in the Capital reported on the Facebook page of the protest.
Several thousand people protested in Piața Victoriei. What are the reasons why people say they took to the streets / Protests in other cities as well – VIDEO
Such protests already took place on Wednesday, the day after the publication of the documentary, on Thursday and Friday.
On Friday evening, several thousand people gathered in Piața Victoriei. “Respect, Raluca!”, they shouted, referring to the speech of judge Raluca Moroșanu from the Bucharest Court of Appeal. On Thursday, before a press conference, she showed her solidarity with judge Laurentiu Beșu, who appears in the documentary.
The protesters also had messages for the head of the ÎCCJ, Lia Savonea: “Justice without phones!”, “Resignation!” or “What is Lia doing with justice? Defending corruption.”
Protests also took place in other cities in Romania, including Iasi, Cluj or Timișoara.
The organizers of the events are Coruptia Ucide, Protest for an independent justice and Declic, civic organizations that also hosted the rallies of the past few days in front of the CSM and Victoriei Square.
What do the protesters want?
Organizers say the protests are about the way justice works and the effects of corruption on criminal investigations. “What happens in Justice affects us all. Just as corruption affects our lives every day,” they said.
“The courage of the magistrates who decided to come forward and talk about the irregularities in the judicial system and the large-scale corruption must be supported from the streets. We cannot stay at home,” the organizers wrote on the Facebook pages of the events.
The protesters demand the dismissal of Lia Savonea, the dismissal of the DNA leadership and the dismissal of Cătălin Predoiu, the minister in whose mandate at Justice the facts reported by the Recorder happened. They also request the revision of the powers of the SCM and the legislative elimination of the “gateways” that allow the postponement of criminal trials until the statute of limitations.
“Captured Justice”
Recorder published an investigation on Tuesday evening about the state of justice in Romania, the phenomenon of prescriptions, but also the effects of the centralization of power at the level of “some magistrates who cohabit with politicians”.
In the Recorder documentary, the military prosecutor Liviu Lascu, Crin Bologa, the former chief prosecutor of the DNA between the periods of Laura Codruța Kovesi and Marius Voineag, but also a prosecutor from the DNA and a judge from the Court of Appeal, who spoke anonymously, were interviewed.
The Recorder's investigation highlighted concrete cases in which defendants politically connected or very powerful in terms of business, such as Marian Vanghelie, Cristian Burci or Puiu Popoviciu, benefited from trials extended until the statute of limitations.
The prolongation of the trials was achieved by changing the court panels by the management of the courts, including the change in the moment when the sentence was to be pronounced.
