The vote removing Diana Sosoaca’s parliamentary immunity clears the way for her criminal prosecution in Romania for allegedly detaining a journalist and promoting anti-Semitism.
Diana Sosoaca waves the Romanian Constitution book to supporters after a hearing at the General Prosecutor’s Office in Bucharest, March 2026. Photo: EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT.
Diana Sosoaca, leader of the ultra-nationalist and populist SOS Romania party, lost her European parliamentary immunity on Tuesday after a majority vote, according to media reports.
The decision comes after the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs concluded that the allegations against her are of a criminal nature and do not relate to her political activity, rejecting claims that the case is politically motivated.
“We have just voted to lift the immunity of MEP Diana Sosoaca. The request passed with a large majority. The European Parliament is always united in allowing justice to do its job,” Romanian MEP Siegfried Muresan from the National Liberal Party wrote on Facebook, Romania Insider reported.
The vote enables Romanian prosecutors and courts to proceed with their investigation, as parliamentary immunity no longer shields her from potential prosecution.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Romania, a criminal probe opened in September covers 11 alleged offences.
These include four counts of unlawful deprivation of liberty, linked to accusations that she detained an Italian journalist in 2021, as well as the alleged promotion of individuals convicted of genocide and war crimes and the dissemination of anti-Semitic content.
Sosoaca has denied all the accusations, arguing that she is being targeted for her political views and describing the case as evidence of a “Romanian and European dictatorship”, maintaining that her actions fall within the scope of free expression.
The MEP has drawn repeated controversy both at home and in Brussels over her conduct and rhetoric.
In 2024, she was removed from a plenary session of the European Parliament after interrupting proceedings, shouting at another lawmaker, chanting religious slogans and displaying a religious icon. The incident cemented her reputation as one of the most disruptive and polarising political figures in the European Parliament.