21 June 2012
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase of Romania shot and wounded himself on Wednesday, apparently in a suicide attempt, hours after the country’s Supreme Court ruled he must serve a two-year sentence for corruption.
Mr. Nastase is the most senior Romanian politician to be jailed since the overthrow of Communism in 1989.
The court’s decision shocked Romania, a poor country where senior politicians have long been seen as above the law. Analysts hailed it as a sign of political maturity in a nation struggling to shed a culture of graft and lawlessness that was honed during decades of Communist rule.
Mr. Nastase, who will turn 62 on Friday, had denied any wrongdoing and insisted that the case was politically motivated.
He had appealed his March 30 sentence after he was convicted of illegally raising $2 million for his failed presidential campaign in 2004 by drawing from the profits of an event organized by a state agency. Mr. Nastase was prime minister in a leftist government from 2000 to 2004 and before that was foreign minister.
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Some people who do not understand our technology are feeling that the time for action is “now or never”, believing that there will be insufficient time left to carry out all the changes necessary before Ascension. We must re-iterate that for us time is not such a crucial factor, and we are able to adjust to whatever time scale we are allowed. Our current plan is to start the action within a matter of days and not weeks, but nevertheless there is no question of it “never” going ahead. However, as you have learnt there is a line drawn from which we must get started even if it means becoming more directly involved. All along we have tried to encourage your participation in the preparations for Ascension and that has not changed, but we will move into action when given the authority. You will know when action is imminent as our allies intend to give a public announcement beforehand.
