The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has determined that there was no violation of the right to a fair trial in the corruption proceedings against former Romanian Member of the European Parliament, Adrian Severin. The case, which was initiated by Romania’s Public Prosecutor’s Office in 2011, involved allegations of Severin accepting a 100,000-euro bribe in exchange for supporting legislative amendments in the European Parliament. This investigation was originally triggered by a journalistic exposé by The Sunday Times, which implicated several MEPs in a bribery scandal.
Following the lifting of Severin’s parliamentary immunity by the European Parliament, he faced charges of passive bribery and trading in influence in 2013. The Romanian court found compelling evidence against Severin, including recorded conversations and interviews with the involved journalists, leading to a sentence of three years and three months’ imprisonment against which Severin unsuccessfully appealed in 2016.
After exhausting domestic avenues, Severin took his case to the ECtHR under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, asserting that the journalists acted as “agents provocateurs” and that the recordings were inadequately verified. He also contested the videoconference testimonies by the journalists, which he claimed were detrimental to his defense.
The ECtHR concluded that there was no breach of Article 6, affirming that the journalists’ actions were independent of political motives and that the trial process provided Severin with adequate means to defend himself. This judgment underscores ongoing concerns about corruption within the European Parliament, which has recently advocated for more stringent anti-corruption measures, as highlighted by Rapporteur Ramona Strugariu. Strugariu emphasized the detrimental effects of corruption on democracy, institutional trust, and citizen welfare.