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Romania Rekindles Talk of Amnesty and Pardons for Corruption

Romania Rekindles Talk of Amnesty and Pardons for Corruption

(Bloomberg) -- The head of Romania’s ruling party rekindled talk of an amnesty and pardons for officials in trouble over corruption, steps that have previously been thwarted by the largest protests since the fall of communism.

Liviu Dragnea, the Black Sea nation’s de facto leader, urged Prime Minister Viorica Dancila’s government to accelerate a controversial judicial overhaul that may weaken punishments for crooked officials. Dragnea himself has a criminal conviction that bars him from becoming prime minister, and is fighting a separate trial and several additional investigations.

Romania Rekindles Talk of Amnesty and Pardons for Corruption

“Why are the words ‘amnesty’ and ‘pardon’ such blasphemy?” Dragnea told fellow party members at a meeting Sunday in Bucharest. “They’re seen as an atomic bomb that Romania is considering dropping on Europe or the world. I’m not afraid to say them. If anyone finds other instruments, any other measures to fix the injustices, they’ll have all the support they need. If not, stop hesitating!”

More than half a million people protested last year to overturn an emergency decree issued by the government that would have eased punishment for officials who abuse their positions and freed others from prison. The ruling coalition cited overcrowded prisons as the basis for the move. Now, ruling-party officials are citing interference in the judiciary by intelligence services and a backlog in parliament as reasons for the need to pass a government decree.

Justice Minister Tudorel Toader declined to give details about any potential decree, telling reporters in Bucharest at the end of Dragnea’s speech that “when I have a structured answer about an amnesty and pardons, I’ll offer it to you.”

In the same speech, Dragnea also called for ruling-party lawmakers to file a criminal complaint against President Klaus Iohannis for high treason and launched a series of attacks against multinational firms and companies operating in the energy, telecommunications and financial industries.

To contact the reporter on this story: Irina Vilcu in Bucharest at isavu@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Rose at rrose10@bloomberg.net, Andrew Langley

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