A total of 91 defendants were sentenced to prison for corruption in Romania, in December 2016, according to the National Anticorruption Department (DNA). A third of the sentences were final.

Among those sentenced to prison in the last month of 2016 are an MP, two county council presidents, a county prefect, a hospital manager, a head of Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety County Department, a police chief, two mayors, and a local TV station administrator.

The sentences the judges ruled against the 91 defendants vary between 1 year and 14 years of jail time, according to a statement from DNA.

Another 110 people were sentenced to prison for corruption in November, and 67 were convicted in October, DNA data shows. The list includes a former minister, three MPs, a city mayor, and other officials.

The Romanian Government wants to adopt an emergency ordinance according to which several categories of prisoners would benefit from pardon. The Ministry of Justice has also prepared a second ordinance that would bring changes to the Penal Code, which would make it more difficult for the anticorruption prosecutors to pursue public officials for crimes such as conflict of interest, abuse of office, and bribery.

Both initiatives have triggered many reactions from politicians, officials, and institutions from the justice system, and the civil society. Thousands of Romanians protested last week, and another protest is scheduled for this Sunday.

Moreover, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced a referendum on this matter.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com