For the second time in the past 10 years, Romania has lost a whistleblower retaliation case before the European Court of Human Rights. The case raises further concerns about Romania’s ability to properly enforce its own whistleblower protection law, even as it struggles to pass a new law to meet updated EU rules.
The Court in Strasbourg ruled unanimously on November 15 that Romania had violated Antoniu Poienaru’s right to freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Poienaru worked as a mechanical engineer for the Agency for Payments and Intervention for Agriculture (APIA) in the Transylvanian city of Cluj. He was fired in 2011 because of articles he wrote on his personal blog about alleged irregularities within the public agency.
“It ate up 11 years of my life, but I’m glad I finally won. Things have to be told as they are,” Poienaru told the newspaper Libertatea. “At least it doesn’t kill you if you tell the truth, like in the old days.”
“I was in my 50s when this trial started. You know how it is, an age at which almost nobody hires you anymore. I was left without a source of income at home. I worked here and there, but honestly, I couldn’t have survived without family help,” Poienaru said.
Despite taking 11 years for the case to be settled, the Court ordered Romania to pay Poienaru only 7,500 plus 600 in court costs for violating his rights.
Poienaru had been working for APIA for five years when he was dismissed in 2011....
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