Tribunal orders house arrest for Romania's Georgescu, prosecutors may appeal

A tribunal in Bucharest has ordered Romanian far-right figure Călin Georgescu into house arrest, replacing the pre-trial detention he has been held under since 29 September, Mediafax reported. Prosecutors can appeal the decision to the Bucharest Court of Appeal, and Georgescu remains in custody until the appeal court rules.

Georgescu, a former presidential candidate, has been held since late September over a fraud case in which Romania's organised crime and terrorism prosecuting unit, DIICOT, estimates the damage at 1.1 million euros, according to Mediafax. Since his arrest, the number of separate criminal cases against him has risen to 5, including an alleged attempted coup, promoting a fascist cult, making a Nazi salute, and removing surveillance equipment that investigators had installed at his home in Mogoșoaia.

Georgescu has previously asked Bucharest's tribunal to replace his pre-trial detention with a lighter measure, and the tribunal had granted this before, Mediafax said. Those rulings were not final, however, and judges at the Court of Appeal later overturned them, keeping him in detention each time.

The ruling comes as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visits Romania this week to discuss European security and defence with President Nicușor Dan, including the Black Sea region, EU enlargement and support for Moldova, according to G4Media. Georgescu's political allies have called a rally in Bucharest for 14 November outside parliament to demand his release, though Bucharest's city hall has not authorised it.