Romania | Chief anti-graft prosecutor fired

Romania’s chief anti-corruption prosecutor was fired yesterday over misconduct and incompetence accusations by her own government ministry.

Laura Codruta Kovesi was dismissed to implement a ruling by Romania’s top court, which had ordered it over the accusations of incompetence, President Klaus Iohannis’s office said.

In a February report, Justice Minister Tudorel Toader had accused Kovesi of being authoritarian, and claimed that prosecutors under her command had falsified evidence and acquitted an inordinate number of defendants. He also accused Kovesi of harming Romania’s image in interviews with foreign journalists.

Kovesi, who has been widely praised for prosecuting senior officials, refuted his accusations.

Flanked by prosecutors, a visibly emotional Kovesi later hit out at politicians who are currently passing laws that critics say will make it harder to punish graft. She said lawmakers were seeking “protection for the past, the present and the future.”

She said she would remain a prosecutor but not at the anti-corruption agency, and ended her statement with an appeal to ordinary Romanians: “Corruption can be beaten, don’t give up!” Prosecutors applauded her.

Under her leadership, the agency has successfully prosecuted lawmakers, ministers and other top officials for bribery, fraud, abuse of power and other corruption-related offenses. MDT/AP