Romania's president expresses support for anti-graft chief

Romania's President Klaus Werner Iohannis delivers a speech during a joint news conference alongside Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Bucharest, Romania, January 16, 2018. Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via REUTERS

By Radu-Sorin Marinas

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's President Klaus Iohannis on Friday expressed support for the country's chief anti-corruption prosecutor, saying he had seen no evidence to justify a request by the justice minister to sack her.

Justice Minister Tudorel Toader called on Thursday for Laura Codruta Kovesi to be dismissed for "excess of authority", triggering street protests and potentially destabilising a crackdown on graft.

(Additional reporting by Luiza Ilie; editing by John Stonestreet)