AUR supporters rally in Brussels demanding release of detained Călin Georgescu

Roughly 70 AUR supporters gathered before the European Parliament in Brussels to protest the preventive detention of former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu. The rally was called by AUR leader George Simion, who spoke to the crowd urging his release. In Bucharest, a separate protest on the 15th night of demonstrations drew close to 200 people, who displayed Romanian flags and shouted slogans against the authorities.

Georgescu’s detention was subsequently changed to house arrest after a court annulled the earlier order, but the ruling is under appeal by DIICOT, meaning he remains detained. Prosecutors allege he organized a criminal group and committed fraud, stemming from a complaint by a Buzău businessman who claims a loss of 1.1 million euros after a promised external financing of 6 million euros fell through. The protests highlight ongoing political tension surrounding the case.