Traian Basescu, fined by CNCD for statements connecting ethnicity and criminality

Former President Traian Basescu (2004 - 2014), current member of the European Parliament, member of the European People's Party Group (EPP Group), was fined on Wednesday RON 5,000 (rd EUR 1,000) by the Steering Board of the National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD), due to discriminatory statements against "mafia-type gypsy groups", Agerpres reports.

According to a CNCD press release sent to AGERPRES, the statements posted by Traian Basescu, which make the connection between ethnicity and criminality, ("Gypsy clans have returned home and seem to categorically refuse to respect the laws of the country", "mafia-type gypsy groups") represents an act of discrimination and violates the right to dignity, according to art. 2 para. (1) i art. 15 of O.G. 137/2000, republished.

Convened on Wednesday in the meeting to settle the petitions, the Steering Board of the National Council for Combating Discrimination decided to apply the sanction of the contravention fine in the amount of RON 5,000 against Traian Basescu.

The decision was adopted unanimously.

"Some of the gypsy clans have returned home and seem to be categorically refusing to abide by the country's laws.The fierce struggle to control illegal businesses in the areas they have assigned to themselves is pushing them to acts of violence hard to imagine happening in Romania just a few months ago. (...) Gypsy mafia-type groups, that are beginning to divide their areas where they charge protection from traders, are also making their presence felt as the process of occupying areas in which the networks of beggars will act is in full swing. (...) If the Ministry of the Interior continues to remain detached from the information in the territory, in the absence of which it cannot act, in six months we may be afraid to go out after dark, or we may be afraid to leave the house for fear of burglars," Basescu wrote on June 7, 2020, in a Facebook post.