Dragnea, in court: I was sent to prison completely innocent

The Bucharest Court of Appeal ruled on Thursday on an appeal filed by Liviu Dragnea against serving a sentence he was handed in the case of fictitious employment at DGASPC Teleorman, with the former Social Democratic Party (PSD) national leader requesting his release from prison on the grounds that he is being held illegally.

The former PSD leader said he was innocent, adding that if he continues to be held in prison "through a brutal human rights violation" means that the Romanian judiciary "could not withstand political pressure."

"I say what I said before. I was sent to prison completely innocent. Basically, I was sent to prison by an illegal panel. The lawyer showed that Romania is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights, which is clear and unequivocal. I was sent to prison for non-compliance with the law and, if I am kept in prison through a brutal human rights violation, it means that in Romania the judiciary is not resisting political pressure," Dragnea said in court.

This enforcement appeal is the last challenge used by Dragnea to get out of prison earlier, after receiving an unfavorable decision on June 9 at the court of first instance - the Bucharest Tribunal.

In his court filings, Dragnea points to an appeal related to "habeas corpus" - a law of a constitutional nature, promulgated in 1679 by the English Parliament that guarantees a person's freedom.

Lawyers to the former PSD national leader claim that he is illegally detained in the penitentiary, because the panel of three judges of the Supreme Court that convicted him was not specialising in corruption. The lawyers referenced an October 2019 decision of the Constitutional Court.

On May 27, 2019, the Supreme Court handed Dragnea a final and binding sentence of 3 years and 6 months in prison for instigating abuse of office in the case of fictitious employment by DGASPC Teleorman.

Dragnea made several attempts to get out of the penitentiary, by using extraordinary remedies in court, but his requests were all rejected.