Elena Udrea gets out of prison, placed under house arrest

Former minister Elena Udrea has been released from Targsor prison on Thursday and placed under house arrest after the Supreme Court decided to replace the remand measure, in the “Gala Bute” file. Elena Udrea stated, after having been released, that the fact that she was able to get out of prison shows that justice has a chance, that there are professionals, brave people who can make justice be rightful. According to Mediafax, she also thanked those who trusted her, especially former president Traian Basescu.

Asked whether she will continue to do politics, Elena Udrea said: “I will stay in politics because there are many things to be changed and turned right. The fact that Elena Udrea was arrested does not mean that justice was done, as some want to say. I think that we need justice, but justice must be done not as revenge, it has to be in accordance with the law and with fairness,” said Udrea.

She also asserted, when asked by journalists, that she has made just one denouncement which was rejected.

“I am happy that there are courageous magistrates. We do not live normal times, unfortunately I can accept that I spent almost three months under arrest, as I said, I think it is my fate, but I do not think it makes sense to use this instrument of remand excessively and abusively, because we are not talking only about politicians. I met women who were jailed because they had been accused of economic crimes: accountants, economic directors lumped together for months, women who were not called to testify not even once, women who had children at home and who were crying every night for being there and who don’t understand why they are not being allowed to at least stay home with their children. We should be more careful with how we apply the law and with the instruments we use,” said Udrea.

At the way out of the prison, Elena Udrea was waited by her mother, who brought her flowers, and by her friend Ruxandra Dragomir.

Romanian MP and former minister of regional development and tourism Elena Udrea was arrested in late February under charges of bribery and abuse of office in the Gala Bute case, following a decision of the Supreme Court.

Udrea has been previously arrested in the Microsoft case but the judges later decided to place her under house arrest.

The Bute Gala was a boxing event organized by the Tourism Ministry in 2012 when it was headed by Udrea. According to DNA, there are suspicions that the Tourism Ministry used alleged illegal funds, including from EU funds, to finance this event.

Staff