UDMR's Porcsalmi Balint:President does not legally answer for political opinions while in office;Barnea misinforms

Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) executive Chairman Porcsalmi Balint declared on Tuesday that Save Romania Union (USR) leader Dan Barna does not know the statute of the head of state or misinforms when he says that president Klaus Iohannis is targeted by the article which provides for imprisonment for the public servant who, prior to a decision of final conviction being ruled, refers to a person who is suspected or accused as if that person had already been convicted. 

"UDMR's proposal supports the guarantee of the presumption of innocence. Dan Barna either does not know the statute of the president or grossly misinforms. The quoted article does not refer to the country's president. The head of state has immunity. He does not legally answer for political opinions expressed while in office, neither for the duration of the mandate and not after the mandate has run its course," Porcsalmi Balint told AGERPRES. 

USR chairman Dan Barna says in a Facebook post that the use of the word "criminal" becomes illegal, because its usage by a public servant or a representative of an authority of the state will be punished with imprisonment, from 6 months to 3 years. 

"This is the sense of the article that was voted by the PSD-ALDE [Social Democratic Party, major at rule - Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, minor at rule, e.n.] majority: The crime of the public servant who before the definitive decision of a conviction is ruled refers to a person suspected or accused is punishable by 6 months to 3 years imprisonment. If the statement is made in the name of a public authority, the punishment increases by a third. Through this article PSD aims to punish with imprisonment president Klaus Iohannis who was sanctioned by the CNCD [the National Council against Discrimination, e.n.] for the statement: "Some criminals are desperately trying to attack and discredit DNA [the National Anticorruption Directorate, e.n.]," Barna pointed out.