Romanians plan more rallies against law to pardon corruption

The draft bill grants amnesty to people convicted of bribery and influence peddling.

Protesters gathered outside Romania's government offices in Bucharest, the capital, against a law aimed at pardoning officials convicted of corruption. May 3 ,2017.
TRT World and Agencies

Protesters gathered outside Romania's government offices in Bucharest, the capital, against a law aimed at pardoning officials convicted of corruption. May 3 ,2017.

Protests are expected to continue in Romania against the government's plan to pardon officials convicted of corruption.

The Senate legal committee in Romania, which is seen as one of the European Union's most corrupt states, approved a draft on Wednesday that would grant amnesty to people convicted of bribery and influence peddling. The senate will now vote on the bill before it goes to the lower parliamentary house, which has the final say on whether it becomes law.

Around a thousand people gathered outside Romania's government offices in Bucharest, the capital, on Wednesday to protest against the move, a few months after massive anti-graft protests.

The crowd blocked the Victory Square where the government offices are and waved Romanian, NATO, European Union and US flags, yelling, "we have to defend the country from thieves!" Hundreds more gathered in other cities across the country against the proposed bill.

TRT World has more.

Weakening the law

The government has said it does not support the latest amendments, though it was unclear whether the ruling coalition of Social Democrats and junior partner the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) would back them in parliament.

Brussels keeps Romania's justice system under special monitoring. While the European Commission has repeatedly praised the judiciary for progress stamping out graft, it has noted parliament has a track record of trying to weaken legislation.

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