AUR deputy Dan Tănasă faces new criminal complaint after xenophobic remarks in parliament

Remarks in the Chamber of Deputies

On Monday, 26 October, Dan Tănasă, a deputy for the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), used a speech from the floor of the Chamber of Deputies to attack foreign workers, especially those from Asian countries. He said bringing workers from outside Europe would have serious consequences for Romania and other European states. He also turned on the USR, a rival party, and suggested its representatives move to the countries of origin of immigrants. Tănasă claimed that the arrival of Asian workers had brought leprosy back to Romania and that drug traffickers from Bangladesh and Nepal had come with them. Addressing the USR directly, he said:

“You brought back leprosy, you brought drug traffickers from Bangladesh and Nepal”

Trial over a 2025 Facebook post

Tănasă had been sent to trial on Thursday, 22 October, for incitement to violence, hatred or discrimination. The case concerns a Facebook post from August 2025 in which, according to prosecutors of the General Prosecutor's Office, he urged Romanians to refuse orders delivered by foreign workers. The prosecutors consider that the post incited hatred and discrimination against workers from Asia and Africa. Tănasă has invoked parliamentary immunity and says the post expressed a political opinion made while exercising his mandate.

Two complaints under the Criminal Code

On Monday, 26 October, former police officer Marian Godină announced on Facebook that he had filed a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice. He asked prosecutors to establish whether Tănasă's insults amounted to abusive conduct under Article 296 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code. That article punishes insulting expressions used by a person in the exercise of official duties with one to six months in prison or a fine. Godină says he saved screenshots of comments in which Tănasă called one user a "snot eater", asked another whether he had inhaled thinner, and compared a third to a seal. A separate complaint was announced by PNL deputy Alexandru Muraru. Godină also questioned loans of nearly 942,000 lei listed in Tănasă's asset declaration, due in 2025, and asked whether they had been repaid. He framed the central question this way:

“I consider that there are sufficient elements to ask the judicial authorities to examine this situation.”

Tănasă's response

Tănasă rejected the accusations on Facebook, saying the post was a political opinion and that he had not called for violence. He wrote:

“Let it be clear: I did not call for violence against anyone. I did not ask for anyone to be assaulted. I criticised a public policy.”

He added that he would defend himself in court. Godină pointed out that the post about delivery workers is no longer available on the deputy's Facebook page, and asked why it had been deleted if it reflected a political opinion. Tănasă had said his mandate is exercised permanently, not only during office hours, and Godină said that explanation drew his attention to the replies Tănasă writes to citizens on Facebook.