Romania: govt suspends law for books written in prison

BUCHAREST, Romania – Romania’s government has suspended a controversial law that made prisoners eligible for a reduced sentence if they had written a book.

The law had sparked controversy after anti-corruption prosecutors investigating suspicions of abuse said one 212-page book was apparently written in seven hours, leading to suspicions that works were plagiarized or ghostwritten.

Government spokesman Dan Suciu said Wednesday the government had suspended the legislation until Sept. 1. Justice Minister Raluca Pruna had called for the law to be scrapped, but was overruled by the Council of Magistrates.

Prisoners can have their sentences reduced by 30 days for every “scientific work” they publish, subject to a judge’s decision on whether the book merits it.

The justice ministry says 340 books were published by prisoners last year, up from 90 in 2014.