Romanian president's refusal to revoke top prosecutor groundless, minister Chiuariu says

Chiuariu asked the president to approve his request to revoke Tulus from the anticorruption department and had sent him a detailed letter regarding the reasons of requesting Tulus' dismissal. In reply, Basescu fired back, according to Chiuariu. He reiterated his accusations against Tulus and said the president wants the abuses to continue since he refuses to dismiss the prosecutor.

Basescu announced on October 29 he would not dismiss Tulus saying the repeated ordinances issued by Chiuariu gave him “a profound feeling of mistrust.” This is the third time when Chiuariu attempts to remove the prosecutor in past six months. On October 18, six of the seven members of the country’s Magistrates' Council denied the justice minister’s request to revoke Tulus. Romania’s judiciary is still under the European Union’s magnifying glass.The country joined the bloc at the beginning of the year with the promise to continue justice reforms and stamp out high-level corruption.

Tulus is in charge of high-level corruption cases that include probes into the activities of several politicians, such as Hungarian Democrat leader Marko Bela, Conservative chairman Dan Voiculescu and others.

Chiuariu’s request spawned protests that such a move would endanger Romania’s pledge to stamp out graft in light of the country’s EU accession. The country’s anticorruption department (DNA) has become a political tool, Chiuariu said, adding sometimes prosecutors stop investigations in certain files regarding some politicians.Head of DNA Daniel Morar rejected accusations that his institution is involved in political manipulation. Morar said prosecutors are only doing their jobs by asking for the approval of President Traian Basescu to start penal investigations.

Morar formerly accused Chiuariu of politically interfering with DNA’s activity. Morar noted that Chiuariu previously asked him not to complete the investigation in some cases during the election campaign. Chiuariu denied the allegations, dismissing them as lies.


Source: NewsIn