The leader of Romania’s ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) Liviu Dragnea was sentenced to three years and six months in prison for instigation to abuse of office on June 21.

Although the ruling is not final, it is expected to have a huge impact on the Romanian political scene on the one hand, and on the image of the justice system in the country on the other.

As of 8pm local time on June 21, upwards of 2,000 people had joined a protest in Bucharest’s Victory Square demanding that Dragnea resign.

The case concerns two people paid by the Teleorman county council, headed at the time by Dragnea, who were actually employed on PSD business.

According to an earlier statement from the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), between 2006 and 2013, Dragnea, who was also the leader of the local PSD branch, ordered the executive manager of Teleorman's general directorate of social assistance and child protection to violate her duties by keeping two employees on the payroll although they did not come to work. In fact, the two employees worked for the PSD's Teleorman branch. The two employees and another defendant pleaded guilty.

The DNA had asked for asked up to seven years and six months in prison for Dragnea, and for the suspension of his previous sentence to be cancelled.

Dragnea’s lawsuit was restarted from the beginning in October last year, as a judge from the panel was changed after he retired.

While the court ruled Dragnea was guilty of instigation to abuse of office, he was acquitted of forgery charges.

PSD decapitated?

The verdict is likely to lead to internal fights for power within the PSD. Dragnea is seen as leading the party with an iron fist and being the real coordinator of the government. The PSD has already appointed three prime ministers since it returned to power after the 2016 general election, with the first two, Sorin Grindeanu and Mihai Tudose, having been replaced after conflicts with Dragnea.

Should Dragnea lose his hold on the PSD, this would also lead to changes in the government, considering current members including Prime Minister Viorica Dancila are Dragnea’s close allies.

Dragnea had already received a two year suspended sentence for voter manipulation in the 2012 referendum on the impeachment of former President Traian Basescu. The sentence prevented him from becoming prime minister after his party won a landslide victory in December 2016.

He does hold the position of speaker of Romania’s lower house of parliament, but pressure is mounting for him to resign.

Embattled DNA strikes a blow

The verdict is some rare positive news for Romania's embattled DNA, which has been under attack from the ruling coalition that has been striving to change criminal legislation since it returned to power.

Some of the changes, many of them already adopted, have been criticised by magistrates, the president and even Romania’s international partners. Some of the planned changes seemed tailored for Dragnea, like the emergency ordinance adopted last year by the government partly decriminalising abuse of office. This lead to mass protests in Romania, the biggest ones since the fall of communism, with around half a million people rallying in the country’s main cities in February 2017.

However, PSD went on with its plans to amend criminal legislation. Earlier this week, the Chamber of Deputies gave its final vote on some amendments to the criminal codes. One of the adopted changes was seen as tailored for Dragnea, who could see his earlier trial in which he received a suspended sentence for voter manipulation, reopened. According to the amendment, the trial could be reopened if the sentence motivation was not signed off by the judge who participated in the decision making process.

The European Commission expressed on June 21 its concern over the changes to the Romanian criminal legislation which it said it is following closely.

From the justice system perspective, the ruling can also improve the image of the Romanian anticorruption prosecutors, who have been lately the target of numerous attacks from the ruling coalition which accused them of abuse. It also indicates that judges do not give in to pressure when ruling in corruption cases involving high officials.

Recently, the head of Romania’s High Court of Cassation and Justice, Cristina Tarcea, said there is and has been pressure on the high court judges, and expressed her confidence the situation would not influence their rulings. The statement was made after Dragnea made some statements during a TV interview regarding prosecutors which could have been easily been interpreted as a threatening.

The sentence could also be seen as a success for the anticorruption prosecutors after some high officials — including Dragnea’s predecessor as head of the PSD, former prime minister Victor Ponta — have been recently acquitted in corruption cases. The ruling coalition has asked for the DNA’s head Laura Codruta Kovesi, under whose leadership numerous high-level probes have been launched, to be removed from her post, but so far President Klaus Iohannis has not responded to a Constitutional Court ruling that he must sack her.