Far-right populist Calin Georgescu, who won the first round of the annulled presidential elections in Romania last year, is accused, among other things, of promoting antisemitism and spreading false information.
Romanian prosecutors said Wednesday they had opened a criminal investigation into Calin Georgescu, the far-right front-runner in last year’s annulled presidential election. Georgescu was taken in for questioning by prosecutors earlier in the day.
After questioning the politician for several hours, prosecutors said they were formally investigating him on charges of forming an antisemitic organization, promoting war criminals and fascist organizations, illegal possession of weapons, and spreading false information regarding the sources of financing of an electoral campaign.
Prosecutors also said Wednesday that they had raided 47 addresses of people and associations linked to Georgescu and that a large cache of weapons and hidden cash was found during the raid.
Among those searched was Horatiu Potra, a former member of the French Foreign Legion and military contractor in the Democratic Republic of Congo whose security firm provides bodyguards for Georgescu.
What was Georgescu’s reaction?
Georgescu has denied any wrongdoing. He also accused the authorities of behavior reminiscent of Romania’s communist past.
“The communist Bolshevik system is continuing its heinous abuse,” Georgescu said on Facebook. “They are looking to invent evidence to justify stealing the election and to do anything in their efforts to block a new candidacy from me.”
About 100 Georgescu supporters gathered in protest outside the prosecutor’s headquarters in the capital, Bucharest, waving the Romanian flag and chanting: “Free Georgescu!” and “President Georgescu!”
Meanwhile, Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on X, “The judiciary is independent & the law must be applied regardless of persons.”
Controversy over Romania’s presidential election
Romania’s Constitutional Court took the unprecedented step of nullifying the election two days before the December 8 runoff following Georgescu’s surprise first-round victory. Allegations of Russian interference and election fraud quickly surfaced.
Members of US President Donald Trump’s administration have sharply criticized Romania for nullifying the election.
Georgescu has sparked controversy in the past for describing Romanian fascist leaders of the 1930s and 1940s as national heroes. Under current Romanian law, promoting fascist leaders and Nazi, racist, or xenophobic symbols is prohibited and punishable by imprisonment.
He has also been criticized for praising Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past as “a man who loves his country” and for calling Ukraine “an invented state.”
Meanwhile, Georgescu remains the top choice of voters in opinion polls ahead of a repeat presidential election in May, although it remains unclear whether he will be allowed to run.
