Senator Sosoaca fined 5,000 lei for hate speech against chief emergency manager Arafat

The Board of Directors of the National Council Against Discrimination (CNCD) has decided to fine Senator Diana Iovanovici Sosoaca for hate speech against the head of the Emergency Management Department (DSU), Raed Arafat, Agerpres reports.

"The Board of Directors of the National Council Against Discrimination convened on January 12, 2022 to consider petitions and passed the following decision: the statements: 'Why isn't Mr Raed Arafat going to his homeland?' 'he speaks of himself in the third person, probably influenced by the language of his native country,' 'I don't know how Mr Raed Arafat took his citizenship exam,' 'traitors have no place in Romania' is an instance of hate speech as defined by Article 2 (1) in conjunction with Article 15 of Government Ordinance 137/2000, republished. The speech maker, Mrs. Iovanovici-Sosoaca Diana, is hereby fined 5,000 lei," reads a CNCD press statement released on Wednesday.

The decision passed by a majority of eight to one.

CNCD says the facts could fall under the scope of criminal law.

CNCD also decided that, also for speech hate again Arafat, Mihail Neamtu should be issued a misdemeanor warning, with the decision being adopted unanimously.

"The statements: 'you speak Romanian badly enough so that I don't feel represented by you', 'I feel represented as Romanian by the one who speaks correct Romanian,' 'I hope you know Romanian correctly, it is still a condition to be Romanian' are hate speech under Article 2 (1) in conjunction with Article 15 of Government Ordinance 137/2000," according to CNCD.