President of Romanian Magistrates Mona Pivniceru said on Tuesday the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) has started „to question” the magistrates regarding the warnings put forward to the European Parliament, to the European Council and to other European forums. “SRI agents had brought back the tactics used by the ex-Securitate”, Mona Pivniceru argued.

The Romanian Magistrates Association (AMR) protested on Thursday against SRI’s alleged intimidation attempt. Judge Mona Pivniceru said SRI requested a copy of Adevar despre justitia romaneasca (The truth about the Romanian Justice) document from the Neamt Court spokes person Iulian Mitrofan.

The document is actually a letter the magistrates sent to the European Parliament and European commission to complain about pressures on the freedom of Justice. SRI said they only showed interest in a document belonging to the judges from the Neamt county (North-East Romania) and that might indicate possible breaching of the judges’ independence, particularly their income.

"To imagine that SRI is defending the legality of the state in Romania would mean to add special institutions with other competences than the legal ones, to transform SRI from the traditional ear-droppers into active characters who get involved in the judicial act, in other words SRI would have to control the judicial authority", AMR president said in Tuesday.