Chairman of Argeş County Council arrested

According to România Radio correspondent Constantin Paşol, the Chairman of Argeş County Council, Constantin Nicolescu, was arrested Tuesday night by the DNA prosescutors, and he will be brought to court, most likely, on Thursday when prosecutors will submit a request for a 29-day arrest.

On Wednesday afternoon Constantin Nicolescu was interrogated for several hours, at the DNA territorial office.

According to his lawyer, when brought to examination, the Chairman of Argeş County Council was not informed of his position in this file.

"No official charge has been made so far and Constantin Nicolescu has not been informed of his position in this file. An investigation is being carried out".

"There is a sponsorship file. He has not been informed about the accusations or about any call at DNA until this moment", attorney Radu Rotaru stated. PSD leader, Victor Ponta, says that this examination, 24 hours after the protest of the workers from Mioveni, is "exceedingly odd".

"I refuse to believe in coincidence, I refuse to believe that 24 hours after thousands of people went out on the streets in Mioveni, Argeş County to show their indignation for the social and economic situation of the country and for the indifference of the Government, the one person who got most of the votes and who is the most elected public person beside the mair of the municipality, the Chairman of the County, is subject to an extremely odd investigation’, Victor Ponta said.

The Chairman of Argeş County Council, Constantin Nicolescu, who is also the president of PSD Argeş, is being investigated in a case that concerns a sponsorship given to Archbishop of Argeş and Muscel.

In a press conference, the Archbishop of Argeş and Muscel asserted that all the works made in 2009 can be sustained with documents.

On Wednesday afternoon, DNA officials searched the house and office of the Chairman of County Council, and later, he was called to hearings.

Translated by: Lidia Enăsoiu

MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University