More than 250,000 Romanians have rallied against a government decree that would decriminalise corruption offenses, and could set jailed officials free.  

More than a quarter of a million Romanians venting their anger on the streets in one of the largest ever protests against the government in the capital Bucharest,

"We came to protect our country against criminals; who tried to dismiss the rule of law in Romania, to protect our rights and interests, not theirs," one protester said. 

The decree would apply to ongoing corruption probes and new cases and effectively throw out the trial of the ruling Social Democrat party's leader, Liviu Dragnea accused of abusing his power to secure state salaries for people working for his party.

Six countries including Germany and the US said the decree would damage Romania's global reputation and its EU and NATO membership.

The ruling government of Prime Minister Sorin Griendenau also approved a draft bill to grant prison pardons, saying it could thin out overcrowded prisons - a claim critics and legions of protesters call an attempt to free corrupt allies of the Prime Minister.