President Requests Magistrate Investigation Section To Clarify Kovesi Case

In a statement, the president urged the section to conduct the investigation with “maximum fairness” and to rapidly clarify the Kovesi’s situation, in context of the prosecutor being favorite to lead the upcoming European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

“The special section for investigating magistrates must under no circumstances serve as a political investigation and intimidation tool against judges and prosecutors. I have contested the establishment of this body from the beginning, and it was severely criticized by the Venice Commission, the European Commission and GRECO for not presenting enough independence guarantees in relation to the political factor and might affect the citizen’s confidence in the judiciary,” the president said in the statement.

The Romanian head of state also criticized the country’s ruling majority for ignoring warnings issued by the aforementioned international bodies regarding the section, and called it responsible for what he deemed a “current conflict among magistrates”.

Laura Codruta Kovesi announced on Wednesday that she was subpoenaed by the country’s magistrate investigation section for a case in which she is suspected of abuse of office.

The former chief prosecutor of the country’s National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) accused that the subpoena is an attempt to derail her bid or the office by the hostile current political power.

She said that the court order was issued after she communicated the date on which she was initially supposed to attend a European Parliament hearing for the EPPO office to the country’s Supreme Court. Kovesi is considered the main favorite for the office, after she was placed first in order of preference on the three-candidate shortlist selected by a special committee.

Magistrate investigation section prosecutor Adina Florea, who is handling the case, confirmed on Thursday that the subpoena was issued in regards to charges pressed by fugitive businessman Sebastian Ghita, who accused Kovesi last year of requesting him to pay for a flight used to repatriate another convicted businessman, Nicolae Popa, from Indonezia in 2011.

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