The General Prosecutor announced on Tuesday that it had opened a criminal case against the incident that took place in the rostrum of the Parliament a day ago, when the Minister of Energy, Virgil Popescu, was abruptly attacked by the AUR leader while speaking from the tribune. The General Prosecutor’s Office announced that in this case it was notified ex officio, and the Criminal Investigation and Forensic Section opened a criminal case for the offenses of outrage and disturbing public order and peace.
The Minister of Energy, Virgil Popescu, had announced previously on Monday evening that he will file a criminal complaint against the leader of AUR, George Simion, who bullied him while speaking from the rostrum of the Parliament, in the plenary session.
During Popescu’s speech at the debate of the simple motion, AUR leader went to the tribune, grabbed the minister by the throat, calling him “a thief” while the Minister of Energy told Simion he was “a fool.”
In a message posted on Facebook, Virgil Popescu talks about “an abject gesture” and a “threat” that cannot be easily overlooked, saying that George Simion should be sanctioned.
“There is no excuse for the aggressive behavior of AUR leader George Simion towards me today. We are talking about a form of violence manifested in the Romanian Parliament, against a minister.
But it doesn’t matter so much if I’m a minister. We are talking here about manifestations of verbal violence against another person, incitement to hatred, disobedience, irrational behavior. And the fact that he legitimizes these “barbaric” urges through the support of the citizens seems to me an abject gesture and a threat, which we cannot easily overlook,” Popescu said.
The minister argued that there are many similar episodes in history, which ended in real trauma, which have repercussions today. “I don’t think we want to nurture such behavior. I’m sorry that something like this happened. I thought that the AUR leader, who says that he is a well-read and educated person, should at least remember the good upbringing, the good manners, the things that priests and good people teach him. This grotesque show, which he staged against me, has nothing positive in it. I will not feed hatred with hatred! But I think the AUR leader should be punished for what he did today .Therefore, I announce that I will file a criminal complaint. I think we all want a civilized society, in which the elected members of the Parliament do not have violent exits! “.