Court considers habeas corpus appeal filed by former political leader Dragnea

The Bucharest Court of Appeal (CAB) is considering today an appeal filed by Liviu Dragnea against the enforcement of the sentence he was handed in the case of fictitious employment at DGASPC Teleorman, as the former national leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) requesting to be released from prison on the grounds that he is illegally detained.

Initially, on June 9, the Bucharest Tribunal rejected Dragnea's appeal, but he challenged the decision with the Bucharest Court of Appeal.

In his court filings, Dragnea mentions an appeal called "habeas corpus" an act of a constitutional nature promulgated in 1679 by the English Parliament that guarantees the person's freedom.

Lawyers to the former PSD leader claim that he is illegally detained in a penitentiary, because the three-judge panel of the Supreme Court that convicted him was not specialised in judging acts of corruption. The lawyers point to a decision of the Constitutional Court of October 2019.

On May 27, 2019, the Supreme Court handed Liviu Dragnea a final and binding sentence of 3 years and 6 months in prison for instigating to abuse of office in the case of fictitious employment at DGASPC Teleorman.

Dragnea made several previous attempts to get out of the penitentiary, by introducing extraordinary remedies in the courts, but his requests were rejected.