General Prosecutor Proposes Tougher Measures Against Violence Incitement

Alex Florența, the Prosecutor General of Romania, claims that the authorities need “up-to-date tools” to be able to effectively combat incitement to violence and legionary propaganda in public space and mentions that the institution he leads is proposing changes to the legislation in this regard. The representative of the Prosecutor General’s Office also points out that prosecutors receive few notifications from the police regarding the promotion of legionary, fascist, racist or xenophobic views.

Facing criticism over the way the Prosecutor General’s Office has handled cases in which various individuals distribute legionary, fascist, xenophobic and racist propaganda in public space, propaganda amplified in the context of the canceled presidential elections, Prosecutor General Alex Florența sent a series of clarifications on Friday.

First of all, the prosecutor general claims, the police, other institutions with responsibilities in combating discrimination or individuals have submitted an average of 21 notifications per year related to “promoting persons guilty of genocide and war crimes, as well as promoting fascist, legionary, racist or xenophobic ideas, concepts or doctrines” (i.e. GEO 31/2002).

“However, it is noted that there are still areas in the country where the prosecutor’s offices have not received any notification or at most one notification under GEO 31/2002 this year, coming from an authority or institution with responsibilities in monitoring and combating behaviors inciting hatred or discrimination, for example in the area of ​​competence of the PCA Bacău, Constanța, Galați, in Iași, Oradea or Suceava”, shows prosecutor Alex Florența.

Romanian courts convicted two people, between 2022 and 2024, for legionary and anti-Semitic propaganda. The cases concerned facts that occurred between 2013 and 2017.

Later, G4 Media showed that the Prosecutor General’s Office did not take action in any case between 2023 and 2024, although “the phenomenon of anti-Semitism and legionary propaganda experienced a vertiginous increase”. This was visible in the public space especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also during the presidential elections, which were canceled in the meantime.

More recently, the presidential candidate Călin Georgescu promoted speeches or people with legionary sympathies.