We publish here in full the text of a letter to the President of the European Parliament, and to the Leaders of the Parliamentary Political Groups, from Dan Radu Rușanu.
My name is Dan Radu Rușanu and I have been a PNL member (Romanian National Liberal Party) since January 1990. During the period 2000-2013, I was Vice-President of the party. I was elected four times to the Romanian Parliament as a senator/deputy and I have held the positions of Vice-President of the Senate, and the Chamber of Deputies respectively.
Through education, and above all, by conviction, I am a declared pro-German and a fervent supporter of the EU. I consider that Romania’s place can only be with the consolidated democracies of the Old Continent.
Most of my fellow citizens think like me and this explains the explosion of joy, the national consensus on January 1, 2007, when Romania joined the EU during the liberal government of Prime-Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu. As in December 1989 when millions of Romanians had removed the Communist dictatorship and celebrated in the streets, this time they celebrated a decisive event in our history also in the streets.
Turning to my case, the Chambers of the Romanian Parliament have unanimously nominated and voted for me in 2013 as President of the Financial Supervisory Authorities (ASF), similar to BaFin in Germany, AFM in the Netherlands and ACPR in France. Eight months later, I was summoned to the DNA where I was informed that I was indicted on a corruption case for four serious offences with 52 material deeds, (the case contained over 1.800 files).
After only 30 minutes of hearing, the case prosecutor in charge, subordinated to Mrs. Laura Codruta Kovesi, signed my detention order, and at the exit of the Prosecutor’s Office, my most elementary rights were violated. Thus, at a peak hour, I was pulled out with handcuffs, under the escort of the police, in the middle of journalists and camera operators – the prosecutors had notified them. The moment was broadcast live on all national television channels. A real media lynch mob started, followed by the “DNA press release”, supervised by Mrs. Laura Codruta Kovesi, through which I was accused and convicted before being tried. What followed this: four months of preventive arrest, three months of home arrest and 11 months of judicial scrutiny, a hardship of three years of trial, at the end of which the ICCJ (the Supreme Court) finally declared my acquittal on the grounds of not having committed any crime.
During this time, none of my colleagues from the party, parliament or government tried to defend me, although they were convinced of my innocence. They did it out of respect for the EU’s democratic principle of “No intervention in the judicial process”, but also taking into consideration the ”stupid” duty of everybody “to prove their innocence in court” (when, actually, it was the prosecution’s responsibility to prove charges).
Contrary to the principles advocated by the EU, I observed the recent rude interventions of the EU Parliament’s leadership in the Romanian judiciary, as well as the double language. This comes in violation of all the democratic principles demanded by the EU Parliament, with the assumed purpose of defending a defendant whose accusation’s content neither you nor I acknowledged. Thus, the double standards practiced by European bodies in interpreting judicial events in Romania does nothing more than to accentuate the Euroscepticism in our country. A minimal consistency in the proclaimed principles and public gestures would make this lack of trust insignificant and would honour you.
For all that has happened to me and other Romanians during the DNA leadership of Mrs Laura Codruta Kovesi, I cannot “admire” her as Mr. Frans Timmermans appears to do, nor to offer her “my support” as Mr. Tajani has declared. Perhaps, if these things had happened in your countries, you would have had changed your mind and you would have not given your support unconditionally.
Dear Sirs, I do not think you will reply to this letter because, unlike me, you have not experienced the same traumatic experience under the DNA ruled by Mrs Kovesi in Romania.
Dan Radu Ruşanu,
Formerly criminal, now retired
