Court: President Cannot Be Sanctioned In “Stinking Gypsy” Case

"As the expression considered discriminatory was used by the plaintiff (Basescu – e.n.) in a strictly private, intimate environment, not to be confused with the general notion of a person’s “private life”, the plaintiff could not have foreseen the final result of his deed, as he was not aware that his private discussion with his wife could have been taped and afterwards made public,” the Court explained its decision.

The judges consider the words “stinking gypsy” are discriminatory, but said they cannot sanction the president for misdemeanor in the absence of all legal elements leading to such action.

The Court warned the president to be more prudent in terms of language, even when he is shopping.

One year ago, president Basescu seized the mobile phone of a journalist who was filming him while he was shopping with his wife. After the president got into his car, the phone recorded Basescu calling the journalists a “stinking gypsy”. The recording was afterward deleted, but the TV station managed to recover it and made it public.