Thousands of Romanians took to the streets of Bucharest to show their support for anti-corruption prosecutors, as the country continues to deal with the fallout from a controversial cabinet decree. Local media reported that 10,000 people walked several kms through the city from parliament, to Romania’s Constitutional Court and on to the country’s National Anti-Corruption Directorate.

There were also smaller protests in four other cities. In Bucharest, demonstrators voiced their support for the DNA and also demanded a de-politicisation of the Constitutional Court. The court recently criticised the DNA after the organisation began investigating the Justice Ministry, including calling officials in for questioning, saying it had overstepped its remit.

The anti-corruption protests, which peaked on Feb. 5 with over 200,000 people in the capital, started after Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu’s Social Democratic cabinet watered down anti-corruption rules with a decree. The government survived by repealing the decree, but protests have continued as demonstrators remain concerned about plans to create loopholes for corrupt politicians, similar to those in the withdrawn decree.

NAN