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The former mayor of Bucharest District 5 Cristian Popescu Piedone was released from prison on Wednesday, after the High Court of Cassation and Justice admitted his appeal and ordered his release.
"I have a clear conscience and I had no way to prevent it," Piedone said about the fire at the Colectiv Club upon leaving prison.
He argued that he had only applied existing laws and it was not his fault if they were not formulated correctly.
The court ordered the cancellation of the execution of the sentence received by Piedone in the Colectiv case and his release "without delay".
On 12 May last year, Cristian Popescu Piedone was sentenced by the Bucharest Court of Appeal to 4 years in prison for abuse of office in this case, a sentence reduced by half compared to the 8 years and 6 months in prison that the Bucharest Court had set in the first instance.
In addition to the halving of the sentence, Piedone was also removed from the list of defendants who must pay damages of tens of millions of euros to the victims of the fire.
Cristian Popescu Piedone has the right to resume his mandate as mayor of District 5, without any legal restrictions, after the High Court of Cassation and Justice admitted his appeal and ordered his release, the Prefecture of the Capital informed AGERPRES in a press release sent on Wednesday.
According to the Bucharest Prefecture, following the ICCJ decision, the legal basis for the termination of Cristian Popescu Piedone's mayoral mandate, namely his conviction, was repealed.
The decision of the High Court of Cassation and Justice is final, enforceable and opposable to all, neither the prefect nor the City Council having the option not to respect it, the press release explains.
After the official communication of the sentence, the Bucharest interim prefect Diana-Anca Artene will issue the reinstatement order.
