Ex-Mercenary Bodyguard Of Moscow-Friendly Romanian Candidate Freed

A Romanian former mercenary and bodyguard of far-right pro-Russian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu has been released by a Romanian court after he and a group of armed associates were detained by police while heading toward Bucharest on December 8.

Horatiu Potra had been detained for 24 hours late on December 8 for violating Romania’s laws on weapons and ammunition and for public incitement, but a court in the southern Romanian city of Ploiesti ordered him released and placed under judiciary control for 60 days for the duration of an investigation into the prosecutors’ claims.

One of his associates, Andrei Florin Filip, 22, was also placed under judiciary control.

Prosecutor Maria Florentina Ilioiu told Romanian media she will appeal the court’s decision to release Potra instead of ordering him in preventive custody.

Unnamed sources told Romanian media that investigators who searched Potra’s residence found approximately 2 million euros ($2.1 million) in safes as well as weapons. Media reports said Potra owns 75 plots of land in Romania as well as 30 pieces of real estate and 15 kilograms of solid gold worth 6 million Romanian lei ($1.27 million).

Potra and a group of 20 people were stopped and searched in Ilfov county north of Bucharest by police on December 8. During the search guns, machetes, axes, and knives were found, which, authorities said, could have been used to “disrupt public order and peace.”

At least 13 people were being questioned by law enforcement agencies.

The arrest came as Georgescu and dozens of his supporters staged a protest early on December 8 in Bucharest after a runoff presidential vote scheduled for that day was scrapped by the country’s Constitutional Court.

Georgescu won a shock victory in the first round on November 24 amid accusations that he had been backed by a huge Russian-orchestrated online campaign using primarily the Chinese-owned TikTok social media platform.

Romania’s Supreme Defense Council later declassified documents allegedly proving Georgescu’s presidential bid had been aided by a campaign led by a “state actor” which was not named.

Following the council’s move, the court canceled the December 8 runoff between Georgescu and pro-European center-right candidate Elena Lasconi.

Romanian authorities staged raids and traffic checkpoints after Georgescu urged his supporters to show up at polling stations on December 8 in defiance of the court’s ruling and demand to vote.

Media reports said Potra and his companions had booked hotels in downtown Bucharest close to University Square, where anti-Georgescu protesters had gathered in previous days.

A former fighter in France’s Foreign Legion, Potra is reported to have led a 900-strong contingent of Romanian military contractors who fought in the African country of Congo.

He is said to have had ties to Russian mercenary group Wagner, which fought in Ukraine and was established by the late Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who died in a plane crash last year after staging a short-lived revolt against Russian military leaders.

Potra, who has denied having any links to Wagner, appears in a photo last year in the company of Russian Ambassador to Romania Valery Kuzmin at a ceremony at the embassy marking Russia’s national day.

According to Romanian media, Potra was sentenced to two years in prison with a suspended sentence in 2011 after being found guilty of founding a paramilitary group. He has also entered Romanian politics and is currently a local councilor in the central Romanian city of Medias./Rferl/