She was fired from her position in Romania, accused of damaging the country’s image abroad, among other charges. Then, in late March, criminal proceedings were started against Ms. Kovesi by an agency set up in 2018 with the task of investigating prosecutors and judges. Ms. Kovesi was barred from leaving the country, though the Supreme Court eventually lifted the ban.
In the past, Mr. Dragnea has been defiant in the face of legal defeats, including a two-year suspended sentence he was given in 2016 for electoral fraud.
That ruling barred him from becoming prime minister when his party won parliamentary elections later that year, but he has remained the chief power behind the throne. Critics say he has been using that power to seek ways to avoid the consequences of the crimes for which he has been convicted.
Victor Ponta, a former Social Democrat prime minister who has become a vocal critic of Mr. Dragnea as the leader of a new political party, wrote on Facebook after the verdict that he was glad that the court decision came after the European Parliament election and the referendum had finished.
The results showed what Romanians think about Mr. Dragnea, Mr. Ponta said, calling him a man “blinded by pride.”
Before the verdict was released, Mr. Dragnea had displayed his typical bravado.
“I have thick skin, and this isn’t the first time I’m on trial,” he told reporters last week. “If the justices are unhindered, they’ll acquit me. If they don’t resist the pressure, God help us!”
The Supreme Court has now settled the matter, siding with a lower court in finding Mr. Dragnea guilty of intervening to keep two of his party’s employees on the public payroll between 2006 and 2013 even though they did no state work.
Early Monday evening, an unmarked police car drove Mr. Dragnea to Rahova Penitentiary, in southwestern Bucharest, to begin his prison sentence.
Source : Nytimes
