Romanian ex-premier operated on after suicide attempt
(BUCHAREST) - Romanian ex-prime minister Adrian Nastase underwent surgery on Thursday after he tried to kill himself hours after the Supreme Court threw out his appeal against a jail sentence for corruption.
Doctors said he was in stable condition following the operation a day after he shot himself in the throat.
"The operation is over, the patient was lucky, he did not sustain life-threatening injuries," one of the surgeons, Ioan Lascar, told reporters.
The 61-year-old shot himself when two policemen came to his house to escort him to prison following a Supreme Court ruling that threw out his appeal against a corruption conviction.
With the police at his house, he asked to be allowed to get some books, left the room, and seconds later shot himself and was rushed to hospital, according to reports.
Hours earlier the country's highest court had rejected his appeal against a jail sentence in a graft trial closely monitored by the European Union.
Nastase, 61, who headed a Social Democrat government between 2000 and 2004, was convicted for siphoning off funds totalling about 1.5 million euros ($1.8 million) for his 2004 reelection campaign.
Prosecutors said public institutions and private companies were pressured into taking part in a 2004 construction contest with participation fees passing through several accounts before ending up paying for Nastase's presidential campaign posters.
Nastase has repeatedly denied all charges against him, claiming he was the victim of a "politically motivated trial" orchestrated by his political arch-rival, president Traian Basescu.
The Supreme Court rejection of his appeal of the conviction has been hailed by analysts as a major turning point in a country often criticised by the European Commission over its reluctance to bring top officials to court.
"This is a turning point showing that reforms are starting to bear fruit," Laura Stefan, expert with think-tank Expert Forum, told AFP.
Writing in an editorial in the Gandul online daily, Cristian Tudor Popscu hailed the ruling as "historic," adding that now "politicians will think twice before they siphon off funds."
"The decision had the effect of an earthquake," said Ecaterina Andronescu, a close ally and former Social-Democrat minister of Education.
Romania's judiciary, undermined by decades of communist dictatorship and corruption, has been placed under close scrutiny by the EU since it joined the bloc in 2007.
Progress in reforming the justice system is crucial for Romania's bid to join the visa-free Schengen area later this year.
"All through these years, we thought that top officials are above the law but today the law, brought in line with European legislation, is above everyone," Alina Mungiu Pippidi, an expert with the Romanian Academic Society, told RFI Romania.
Nastase, who is the most senior figure condemned in Romania since 1989, has been described as the political mentor of Romania's current Prime Minister Victor Ponta.
The anti-corruption prosecutor's office has often come under criticism in Romania, but the European Commission praised its independence and efficiency.
The number of high-level corruption jail sentences handed over the past few years has been on the rise, nearing 400 in the first five months of 2012 alone.