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Former Romanian PM Operated On After Alleged Suicide Attempt

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Former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase (2000-04) leaves Romania's High Court of Justice in December 2006 at the start of his trial in Bucharest on corruption charges.
Former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase (2000-04) leaves Romania's High Court of Justice in December 2006 at the start of his trial in Bucharest on corruption charges.
Romania's former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase has undergone surgery after he allegedly tried to commit suicide hours after his appeal against a two-year jail sentence for corruption was rejected.

Nastase reportedly attempted to shoot himself in the head on June 20 but was prevented by one of the policemen who had come to his house to escort him to prison.

Doctors said his neck wound is superficial and he is now in stable condition.

However, they said Nastase, who suffers from a heart condition, must spend 14 days in hospital.

Nastase, who headed a leftist government from 2000-04, was convicted for diverting $2 million from the budget for his 2004 presidential campaign, which he lost to President Traian Basescu.

Nastase claims he is the victim of a "politically motivated trial" orchestrated by Basescu.

Based on reporting by hotnews.ro
Romania's former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase has been hospitalized following an attempted suicide hours after a court confirmed a jail sentence over campaign-finance fraud.

The 61-year-old Nastase shot himself with a revolver in the presence of police, injuring himself seriously in the throat, local media reported.

He is said to be in stable condition.

The suicide attempt came hours after the country's supreme court upheld a two-year jail sentence for graft.

In January, Nastase was found guilty of funneling 1.6 million euros ($2 million) in campaign donations in 2004 to accounts held by companies under his control.

Nastase, a leftist prime minister from 2000-04, becomes the highest figure to be jailed since the fall of communism.

With additional reporting by dpa

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