One of the investigative authors was reportedly summoned to the Directorate for Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) headquarters. There, former Chief Prosecutor Carmen Vrânceanu personally handed the reporter a subpoena, demanding the data collected during the journalistic investigation for the series “The ‘Migrant’ Affair I, II, and III.”
Former Chief Prosecutor Vrânceanu also inquired whether RISE had concluded the series of articles on migrant trafficking or was preparing additional investigations.
The investigations uncovered the plight of thousands of Asian citizens left stranded on the streets of Romania by the recruitment firms that brought them there. Desperate, they flee to other European countries via migrant trafficking networks. For months, RISE delved into the murky business of labor imports, running parallel to the DIICOT investigation.
The potential involvement of law enforcement officials in the crime, coupled with the growing body of evidence, likely prompted the authorities to escalate their pressure on the investigative media outlet.
Romania’s free speech and human rights watchdog, Active Watch, along with numerous media outlets, condemned the prosecutor’s actions, calling them a violation of the country’s laws and procedures.
“The actions of the DIICOT Caraș-Severin prosecutors are abusive, contravene European and Romanian legislation and jurisprudence, and violate the principles of journalistic ethics,” the watchdog stated.
On Thursday evening, DIICOT issued a new subpoena to RISE, canceling the previous one and acknowledging that it was not issued in accordance with the Penal Code. However, the new subpoena failed to address the infringement of media freedom, the right to free speech, the protection of sources, or the abuses against RISE and its team.
