Officially the European Parliament announces that it has received the request of the Romanian authorities to raise the immunity of Diana Şoșoaca
Diana Şoșoaca, scandal in the European Parliament, with the icon in hand. Photo: Jean-Francois Badias / AP / Profimedia
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, officially announced on Thursday that the institution received the request of the Romanian authorities to raise the parliamentary immunity of the MEP Diana Şoșoaca, the President of SOS Romania. At the beginning of the week, Şoșoaca was informed that it has the quality of charged in a file opened by the General Prosecutor's Office.
“The competent authorities in Romania have addressed to me a request for lifting the immunity of Mrs. Diana Şoșoaca. This request will be sent to the Legal Commission,” said the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola on Thursday. The lifting of Diana Şoșoaca's immunity was required on September 23 by the General Prosecutor's Office.
The immunity of a MEP can be raised after requesting a competent authority. In the case of Diana Şoșoaca, this request was made by the General Prosecutor's Office. Following the announcement of Roberta Metsola in the plenary, she submits the request to the Commission for Legal Affairs, according to the Regulation of the European Parliament.
“The Commission may request any information or explanation that it considers necessary. The MEP concerned is offered the opportunity to participate in a hearing and may present documents or other relevant written evidence,” according to the European Parliament.
The Commission subsequently adopts a recommendation for approval or rejection of the request to raise immunity, which vote in the plenary of Parliament.
“During the plenary session that takes place after the commission's decision, the Parliament makes a decision based on a simple majority vote. After the vote, the president immediately communicates the decision of the Parliament of the MEP and the competent authority of the Member State,” according to the same source.
For the moment, it is not clear when the vote could take place by which the MEPs will decide whether or not they agree with the lifting of the immunity of Diana Şoșoaca.
General Prosecutor's Prosecutors at Diana Şoşoaca
According to the General Prosecutor's Office, the case prosecutor of the criminal prosecution section ordered the further criminal prosecution of Diana Şoșoaca, for the following offenses:
- 4 offenses of deprivation of freedom illegally, prev. of art. 205 para. 1 Criminal code;
- 4 offenses of promotion, in public of the cult of persons convicted for committing genocide offenses against humanity and war crimes, as well as the act of promoting, in public, ideas, conceptions or fascist, legionary, racist or xenophobic doctrines, prev. of art. 5 of GEO no. 31/2002;
- Promotion, in public, in any way, ideas, conceptions or anti -Semitic doctrines, prev. of art. 3 of Law no. 157/2018, regarding some measures to prevent and combat anti -Semitism;
- denial, challenge, approval, justification or minimization obviously, by any means, in public, of the Holocaust or its effects, prev. of art. 6 para. 1 of GEO no. 31 of 2002;
- outrage, prev. of art. 257 para. 1 and 4 Criminal Code.
VIDEO Diana Şoşoaca, at the General Prosecutor's Office, in the file in which she is accused of 11 crimes
The European Parliament has not commented so far Diana Şoşoaca's case
Contacted by Hotnews on September 23, after the announcement of the General Prosecutor's Office, the representatives of the European Parliament said that they do not comment on the individual cases involving MEPs.
“Please note that, following a request from the competent national authorities addressed to the European Parliament of a Member, the President of the Parliament will announce the request in plenary and will send it to the Commission (Commission for Legal Affairs – Juri). The Commission will analyze the request without delay and will ask the authority in question to provide any information or explanation for the European Parliament Hotnews.
