More than 170 magistrates in Romania have joined an action group accusing the country’s judicial system of being “captured”, following public allegations by the investigative platform Recorder, confirmed by judge Raluca Moroșanu, that intensified street protests in Bucharest and several major cities on December 11.

Over 1,000 people rallied in Bucharest, with hundreds more in Cluj-Napoca and Iași, demanding the resignation of High Court (ICCJ) president Lia Savonea, National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) president Liviu Voineag and Interior Minister (former minister of justice) Cătălin Predoiu. The demonstrations followed the release of a two-hour Recorder documentary, aired by the public broadcaster, which alleged systematic interference in high-profile corruption cases.

The protests, comparable to earlier anti-corruption rallies in Bulgaria, have targeted the leadership of the judiciary rather than the government, although protesters argue that political figures have benefited from and created the current "captured" state in the judiciary.

Moroșanu spoke at the beginning of a press conference organised by the Bucharest Court of Appeal (CAB) that had initially been convened to reject the documentary’s allegations. Encouraged by journalists, she publicly supported judge Laurențiu Beșu, whose statements formed the centre of the Recorder investigation. After her remarks, explanations offered by Court of Appeal president Liana Arsenie were received with scepticism by journalists and civic groups, particularly after one speaker was overheard whispering before leaving the meeting, “I have to speak, Lia called me.”

“I came here to support my colleague, Laurentiu Besu and to say that everything he said there is true. If he is contradicted, it is a lie,” Moroșanu said. “Here, at the Bucharest Court of Appeal, we work very hard. The leadership does not help us in any way. We are simply terrorised with disciplinary actions and with everything you know is happening to us.”

Later in the day, judge Daniela Panioglu confirmed to Euronews the accusations outlined in the Recorder documentary.

“I don't know if anything works better in Romania than corruption in the judiciary,” she said, adding that Savonea “controls almost everything that happens”.

In a reaction to Euronews, Savonea rejected the documentary’s findings, stating: “The testimonies invoked are not supported by verifiable facts and contain statements that do not correspond to reality.”