What the newspapers say: March 25, 2009

Anti graft prosecutors retained Romania’s General Department of Information and Internal Protection chief, Cornel Ilie Serban for complicity in favoring a felon, one newspaper reads on Wednesday. In politics, Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu declared that he will not run for President and that he will sustain Liberal leader Crin Antonescu. Last but not least, one newspaper notes that consumer’s rights are infringed by a shop in malls across the country.

Anti-graft prosecutors retained the General Department of Information and Internal Protection chief, Cornel Ilie Serban, together with a deputy of the General Anti-graft Department Petre Pitcovici for favoring a felon, Cotidianul reads, quoting NewsIn. According to NewsIn sources, the two were retained for 24 hours together with businessman Puiu Popoviciu, known for his real estate projects like Baneasa Shopping Center.

Cornel Ilie Serban and Petre Pitcovici were previously called in for questioning on Tuesday, investigated for several felonies before being appointed in the Interior Ministry. NewsIn sources declared that the two were, at some point, colleagues in the Anti-Drugs Brigade subordinated to the Police.

The two were part of the team investigating in 1995, a Dutch citizen, caught with drugs, in the house of the former Interior Minister Cristian David’s girlfriend at the time. Ilie Cornel Serban was named as chief of the institution on Sunday, March 15 by the current Interior Minister Dan Nica. According to ministerial sources, the two departments will be massively restructured, because Dan Nica is not satisfied with their performances.

In politics today, Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu declared that he will not run against President Basescu but that he will support Liberal Crin Antonescu, Gandul reads. He added that Crin Antonescu was one of his supporters during his campaign for the Bucharest City Hall and that now, it is his moral obligation to return the favor.

Oprescu underlined that he will stand by his promise made during his campaign that he will not run as President. He emphasized that he cannot leave Bucharest citizens after they voted for change, fed up with the lies.

Oprescu said that one of his main priority is to prove that his electoral promises we real. However, Oprescu said that he would not be afraid to run against Basescu and that the only thing that is stopping him is his responsibility for those citizens who believed in him and whom he cannot disappoint.

As a former Social Democrat, Oprescu explained that the governmental coalition between the Social Democrats and the Democrat Liberals will not live long. He added that he does not believe in such a coalition and that there is an obvious incompatibility between the two political parties.

Evenimentul Zilei reads that consumer’s rights are infringed by Sprinder stores, located in various malls across the country by putting up announcements signaling the existence of surveillance cameras in fitting rooms. Store representatives declared that the measure was aimed to protect the store against potential thefts and that they actually do not have any hidden cameras.

Experts contacted by the newspaper declared that the store’s actions are illegal, with or without the presence of surveillance cameras. Consumer’s protection organizations declared that taping a person through a video surveillance system is an action dealing with personal data and according to the law it is illegal if the subject did not consent.