Romania unveils charges against former presidential candidate Georgescu

Romania’s General Prosecutor’s Office has opened criminal proceedings against anti-Western politician Calin Georgescu, who was detained for questioning on Wednesday, February 26.

The prosecutor of the Romanian Prosecutor General’s Office appealed to the Supreme Court of Cassation, which issued a ruling to initiate criminal proceedings.

Georgescu is charged with, among other things, “incitement to actions against the constitutional order, reporting false information, and knowingly giving false testimony,” local media reported.

The prosecutor’s office interrogated the far-right Romanian politician Calin Georgescu for about five hours, after which he was released under judicial control and banned from leaving the country.

Several hundred supporters, as well as politicians from the far-right Alliance for the Unification of Romanians and the Youth Party, were waiting for him at the exit of the building.

The indictment also mentions “initiating or creating an organization of a fascist, racist, or xenophobic nature,” “publicly promoting the cult of persons guilty of crimes of genocide against humanity and war crimes,” and “initiating or creating an anti-Semitic organization.”

Georgescu finally lost the lawsuit in which he demanded the resumption of the canceled elections.

Georgescu is an anti-Western, pro-Russian, and ultra-nationalist candidate who unexpectedly won the first round of elections in December 2024 due to an alleged foreign interference campaign through TikTok advertising campaigns.

On Wednesday, he was arrested for questioning in a criminal case related to the financing of his campaign.

Law enforcement officers also searched the homes of Georgescu and his close associates, including mercenary leader Horatiu Potra and Georgescu’s bodyguard. During the searches, prosecutors found weapons, ammunition, and large sums of money. Investigators found 900 thousand euros in a safe hidden in the floor at Potra’s home.

Earlier, Romanian police detained two dozen people traveling to Bucharest with an arsenal of weapons over the weekend, amid tensions after the second round of presidential elections was canceled.

Among them is Horatiu Potra, a Romanian politician and former leader of a mercenary group operating in Africa. Local media reports reveal that Potra’s car contained a pistol, knives, and other weapons, along with cash in five currencies.

Horaciu Potra’s lawyer told Politico that he was detained on charges of weapons possession and incitement to violence over a Facebook post, but denied his client’s connection to Georgescu.