Over 450 hurt in Romania clashes

BUCHAREST — More than 450 people were hurt during a huge anti-corruption protest in Bucharest, Romanian police said on Saturday, a day after the rally at which around 30 people were arrested.

Police had used water cannon and tear gas to disperse the protesters as tens of thousands rallied to call on the left-wing government to resign.

Many demonstrators needed treatment after inhaling pepper spray and tear gas, while others suffered blows, hospital sources said.

Around 30 police were also injured, 11 of whom were taken to hospital.

Police rejected criticism from the center-right opposition that its officers had used excessive force, saying its response to violence by dozens of protesters had been "gradual and proportionate".

Local media said up to 80,000 people had taken to the streets, among them many Romanian expatriates who returned home to show their anger at the graft in one of the EU's most corruption-plagued member



states.

About a thousand officers in riot gear intervened to clear the crowds assembled in a central square outside the main government building after some protesters tried to break through the police cordon.

Romania's center-right President Klaus Iohannis, a critic of the government, said he "strongly condemned the brutal intervention of the police, which was disproportionate to the attitude of most demonstrators" but added that "any form of violence is unacceptable".

Another demonstration is planned for later Saturday in Bucharest.

In a controversial move last month, Romania sacked top anti-graft prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi — considered a symbol of the country's fight against corruption.

With Kovesi at the helm, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (DNA) had led a crackdown on corruption among local and national elected officials, earning the enmity of many in Romania's political class and prompting critics to accuse it of abuse of power.