BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania's best-known television journalist and his producer were detained Tuesday on charges of blackmailing and threatening a mayor.
Dan Diaconescu and producer Doru Parv were handcuffed and detained by anti-corruption prosecutors for allegedly demanding money from Ion Motz, the mayor of Zarand village, to avoid broadcasting compromising material about him.
Motz claims he paid the two defendants about €30,000 ($37,000). He said they had demanded a total of€200,000 ($248,000).
Since communism was overthrown in 1989, Romanian journalists have been regularly accused of extorting money from officials and public figures in exchange for a news blackout on damaging topics. Civic Media group criticized the detentions, saying the journalists were not a "a public danger," and did not need to be handcuffed.
Prosecutors will decide Tuesday whether to take the next step in the litigation process: arresting Diaconescu and Parv for 29 days.
Diaconescu, who owns the nationally broadcast OTV channel, has denied the charges. Daniel Fenechiu, a lawyer for Diaconescu, says prosecutors have no proof in the case.
Diaconescu’s OTV specializes in tabloid-style television, and he hosts talk shows that last for hours. The 42-year-old journalist is worth €33 million (US$41 million), according to Top 300 Capital which publishes an annual list of Romania’s richest. He has several properties, two Rolls Royces, a Bentley, a yacht and two helicopters according to the publication.
