Under the law passed on Dec. 17, individuals who distribute online “fascist, Legionary, racist and xenophobic materials” face a prison term of 1.5 to 7.5 years. Legionnaires were a pro-Nazi paramilitary force operating during the reign of collaborator Ion Antonescu during World War II, when Romania was part of Nazi Germany’s Axis.
Those who glorify Antonescu or anyone guilty of genocide charges face a sentence of three months to three years, or a fine, under the law, which expanded Romania’s 2015 legislation against hate speech. Individuals found guilty of establishing or supporting “organizations with a fascist, Legionary, racist or xenophobic character” face three to 10 years in prison under the new law.
Online distribution or production of antisemitic materials is punishable by imprisonment from 1.5 to 7.5 years under the law. “Contesting, approving, justifying or minimizing the Holocaust on Romanian territory” online will result in a prison term of six months to five years.
The law, which is widely referred to in Romania as the Vexler Law because it was submitted by Silviu Vexler, a lawmaker and the president of the Federation of the Jewish Communities of Romania, is among the most robust of its kind in Europe.
His speech in parliament ahead of the vote was marred by a provocation that generated a wave of antisemitic hate speech online.
Before Vexler spoke about the law in parliament, a nationalist lawmaker had placed on the speaker’s podium an A4 page bearing the portraits of eight figures, mostly from the 19th century, who are often considered part of Romania’s literary and intellectual canon.
Vexler removed the page, but it was handed back to him. He then tore up the page in front of cameras. The footage led to “an explosion of antisemitic manifestations on social networks, with incitement to maximum violence,” according to the Elie Wiesel National Institute for Holocaust Studies in Romania.
European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor wrote in a statement that he “applauds the passage of this law” and “strongly condemns the antisemitic harassment and threats directed” at Vexler. “That a Jewish lawmaker was targeted by fellow MPs and subjected to a wave of online antisemitic incitement for advancing legislation against hate shows the necessity of the law,” Kantor added.
Vexler later wrote in a statement that his actions were “an instinctive reaction to the endless verbal and physical aggression, hatred and threats directed against me and my family, to the accusations of ‘genocide’ and ‘national treason’.” He added: “I did not notice who or what was on that paper, which I initially tried to move.”
The lower house of Romania’s parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, adopted the law on Dec. 17 through a majority of 176 lawmakers out of 330. It is to become effective this week as it has already been reviewed by the Senate and by President Nicușor Dan.
The president has opposed the law, referring it earlier this year to the Constitutional Court for review, saying it would “increase social tension and distrust in authorities.” The court dismissed his objections and returned it to parliament. Dan warned parliament earlier this month that “some articles can be interpreted abusively, which could turn people unrelated to extremism into criminals.”
In many Central and Eastern European countries, Nazi collaborators are celebrated as heroes because they fought against the Soviet Union, which after World War II occupied or dominated most of that area.
In Germany, which has some of Europe’s strictest laws against promoting fascism, the maximum sentence for doing so is three years in prison, and five if the rhetoric includes incitement to hate.
In France, which also has legal restrictions on what individuals are allowed to say about World War II, it is legal to praise collaborationists but denying or minimizing crimes against humanity may lead to a prison term of up to three years.