The Supreme Court  ruled two years in jail for former Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase, a definitive sentence which came on Wednesday (June 20 ), after the former PM had appealed the conviction received earlier this year. The decision is final and was taken in unanimity by five judges who deliberated for about six hours. Nastase did not attend the appeal hearing. He has 24 hours to be taken into custody and sent to the Rahova prison. Nastase plans to appeal the decision at the European Court of Human Rights.

The former PM was found guilty of having financed his election campaigns with funds collected for the symposium ‘Quality Trophy’, organized by the State Inspectorate for Quality in Construction in 2004. Participation fees for the symposium in 2004, totaling EUR 1.6 million, went to four companies, controlled by two members of Nastase’s entourage. Adrian Nastase, a former leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), served as PM when the PSD were in power between 2000 and 2004. The trial lasted over three years and involved 900 witnesses and 48 court hearings.

The four other individuals found guilty in this case, Irina Jianu, the former general inspector of the State Inspectorate for Quality in Construction was sentenced to six years in jail, the same as Bogdan Popovici, while Marina Popovici was sentenced to five years in jail, similarly to Diana Garsparovici. Nastase and the other four also have to pay EUR 1.5 million in damages.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Adrian Nastase's blog)