The courtroom was silent but tense, the whir of camera lenses the only sound as dozens of journalists fixed their eyes on the bench. An extraordinary press conference had been called after the airing of a documentary late last year that claimed the top of Romania’s justice system was riddled with corruption.
Seated at the bench at the Bucharest court of appeal was its president, Liana Arsenie, flanked by her two vice-presidents. Behind them, in support, stood about 30 judges.
