Romania party chief gets 2-year suspended sentence for fraud
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Version 0 of 1. BUCHAREST, Romania — A Romanian court has handed a two-year suspended prison sentence to the chairman of Romania’s main party for fraud in a referendum to impeach Romania’s former president. Liviu Dragnea, chairman of the Social Democratic Party, lost his appeal Friday when the High Court of Cassation and Justice doubled the sentence of a lower court. The ruling is final. He is convicted of inflating voter numbers at a July 2012 referendum to impeach former President Traian Basescu. The referendum failed because turnout was too low. More than 50 percent of the eligible voters need to participate for such a referendum to be valid. Dragnea had denied wrongdoing. Two other people were given prison sentences of two years each and 20 others were acquitted. Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |