Romanians Protest Judicial Corruption 

Romanians protested in Bucharest against judicial corruption on Friday, following accusations of pressure by top court officials on magistrates.

The eastern European country ranks as one of the most graft-ridden in the EU, according to Transparency International’s corruption perception index, and the demand for judicial independence has drawn massive protests in the past.

The current protests first erupted on Wednesday after the publication of an expose by investigative media outlet Recorder, with testimonies from judges and prosecutors about cases being drawn out and pressures on magistrates.

On Friday, several people protested in front of the government, demanding the sacking of the justice minister, head of the High Court and several other senior figures.

“Civil society does not accept a system that is inherently corrupt and designed to be manipulated from within,” Vlad Voinea, a 40-year-old IT worker carrying his daughter on his back, told AFP, as protesters chanted “justice, not corruption”, “Thieves” and “We see you”.

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Mihnea Mihai, 31, carrying a sign that read “Respect for honest magistrates”, said he was in the street “to support the magistrates who had the courage to come forward” and “give courage” to others to publicly talk about the problems in the justice system.

Similar protests also took place in other cities throughout the country.

Since its publication, the investigation has drawn more than 3.5 million views on YouTube in the country of 19 million.

Following the investigation’s publication, one of the courts mentioned, the Bucharest Court of Appeals, defended itself in a press conference but one of its judges broke ranks and intervened in the conference to publicly denounce pressures.

“We are simply terrorised with disciplinary actions,” judge Raluca Morosanu told the media, backing the video investigation.

Since then, hundreds of judges and prosecutors signed a public letter denouncing “deep and systemic dysfunctions” and expressing solidarity with the magistrates “who had the courage to raise awareness of the problems and pressures within the justice system”.

President Nicusor Dan invited magistrates for talks on December 22, noting in a Facebook post that when hundreds of magistrates report “a problem with integrity in the justice system, things are very serious”.

Judicial graft has been a long-time concern in Romania, which included corruption among its main vulnerabilities in the new defence strategy, adopted by parliament in November.