Romania to End Scam Over Jailbird Authors

Romania's Justice Minister, Raluca Pruna, on Thursday said the country will scrap the article that cuts convicts' jail sentences by 30 days for every "scientific work" that they publish.

The move is aimed at putting an end to the sudden and unexpected literary boom in the country's prisons.

"A draft emergency ordinance to amend the law will be filed on Friday and is expected to be approved by the government next week," Pruna said.

She described the current law as "discriminatory, as it rewards intellectual work more than physical labour. Moreover, there is no such rule in any other EU country," Pruna added.

The law dates from the Communist era and was aimed at imprisoned intellectuals who were not suitable for manual labour.

Skilled manual workers can reduce their sentences in the same way, but the number of days to be shortened is decided by a judge.

Many inmates have taken advantage of the law and got to work on books. Data released by the Prison Administration says that 188 inmates published over 400 books between 2013 and 2015.

Businessman and politician Dan Voiculescu is one of the most prolific prison writers, having published ten books on various economic topics since being incarcerated in August 2014.

He is serving a 10-year sentence for involvement in the fraudulent sale of a state institution and for money laundering - but his books may write 300 days off his jail time.

Media mogul Dan Diaconescu, who was jailed last year for five-and-a-half years for blackmail, has written five books about journalism.

Football experts make up another important group of prison writers. Agents, former footballers and former managers convicted for tax evasion related to illegal...