Romanian prosecutors send AUR lawmaker Dan Tanasă to trial on an incitement-to-hatred charge

As of 8:42 a.m. ET, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026

Romanian prosecutors have sent a member of parliament to trial on a charge of incitement to violence, hatred or discrimination over a social media post, the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice said Thursday, Oct. 22.

The prosecutors' statement did not name the lawmaker. Romania's national news agency, Agerpres, identified him as Dan Tanasă, a deputy from the AUR party.

According to the indictment, on Aug. 19, 2025, the defendant incited the public to hatred and discrimination against workers in Romania from Asia and Africa on grounds of race, nationality, ethnicity and religion by publishing a message on a public social media platform, the prosecutors said. The message urged people to refuse an order if it was not delivered by a Romanian and to stop encouraging the import of unskilled workers from Asia and Africa, according to the statement. (Translated from Romanian by GROKsiNEWS.com.)

Prosecutors said parliamentary immunity covers votes and political opinions expressed in the exercise of a lawmaker's mandate, but that deputies and senators can be prosecuted for acts unrelated to them. The case was sent to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, they said. (Translated from Romanian by GROKsiNEWS.com.)

The prosecutors said that sending the case to court cannot in any way override the presumption of innocence. (Translated from Romanian by GROKsiNEWS.com.)

Agerpres reported that after the post, former police officer Marian Godină said he had filed a criminal complaint against the deputy.

What is not known

The statement does not give a date for the first hearing.