ROMANIA IN TURMOIL: Protesters furious over plans to pardon thousands of criminals

Politicians have been trying to push through laws which would enable them to excuse thousands of convictions in a bid to ease over-crowding in prisons.

Around 3,000 people gathered in Bucharest as protests took place across the country including in the western city of Cluj, as well as Sibiu, Iasi and Craiova.

The protesters stormed up to a government building refusing to accept the government's new proposals.

Draft decrees show an intent to pardon convictions of five years for several crimes which has shocked much of the Romanian population.

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Romanian protesters gather in the city as they marched towards the government building

The protesters were also outraged by the government's plans to decriminalise abuse of power in certain circumstances.

In the footage, thousands of protesters can be seen gathering in Bucharest as they raise flags and chant towards the political building.

Romanians believe this would allow politicians to escape convictions for corruption enabling them to avoid going to prison.

Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis attended his first cabinet meeting since taking office in 2014, where he described the plans as “elephants in the room” that no-one was talking about.

The Romanian Prime Minister, Sorin Grindeanu, was asked by the President not to include the matters into any overnight cabinet meeting without it being discussed in the open.

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President Klaus Iohannis (left) joined a cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu (right)

The government, which took office in December, has been attempting to ease prison over-crowding and has said it needs to get the criminal code in line with recent court rulings.

Legal officials have however condemned the government's plans to change the law without consulting the judiciary or going through parliament.

It has been reported that abuse of power is to account for a third of all anti-corruption investigations.

The European Commission, which has been keeping special monitoring tabs on Romania's legal system, has praised the judges' efforts to fight the corruption, but have been shocked by the political plan of action.

Original Article