Dragnea to stay in prison as judges dismiss his appeal

The Bucharest Court of Appeal (CAB) on Friday dismissed as unfounded, an appeal filed by Liviu Dragnea against a jail sentence handed to him in the case of fictitious employment at DGASPC Teleorman; the former Social Democratic Party (PSD) national leader requested his release from prison on the grounds that he is being held illegally.

The decision is final and binding.

This was the last extraordinary way of challenge used by Liviu Dragnea appealed to get his sentence of three years and six months of imprisonment, handed to him in May 2019 for inciting abuse of office in the case of fictitious employment at DGASPC Teleorman, quashed.

Earlier, Dragnea made several attempts to get out of the penitentiary, by making use of extraordinary remedies - appeal in annulment and appeal in cassation, but all his requests were rejected.

On Thursday, during the trial at CAB, Dragnea claimed to be innocent and that if he is kept in prison "for brutal violation of human rights", it means that the Romanian judiciary "does not resist 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.