Romanian prosecutors on Tuesday indicted right-wing former presidential candidate Calin Georgescu on six charges, including complicity to undermine the constitutional order, spreading false information and founding an anti-Semitic organisation.

Twenty-one other individuals, including alleged paramilitary leader Horatiu Potra, were indicted in the same case.

Prosecutor general Alex Florenta told a press conference that Georgescu had also been “the beneficiary of Russia’s hybrid war actions,” which included cyberattacks on key institutions, disinformation campaigns and aggressive promotion on social media, much of it generated with artificial intelligence

Georgescu, a populist politician known for his NATO-sceptic and pro-Russian views, was charged in February and faces ten to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

According to prosecutors, Potra, a dual Romanian–French national, planned to incite unrest and overthrow the government after the 2024 presidential election was cancelled. At that time, he allegedly travelled armed to Bucharest to stir up rallies in support of Georgescu. Media reports described him as leading a criminal, paramilitary organisation with ties to the far-right. He has since fled Romania and remains at large.

Georgescu won the first round of the presidential elections in November last year, in a development signalling that EU-member Romania was joining the region’s growing trend toward far-right populism.

His unexpected success led the Constitutional Court in December to order a rerun of the vote, citing alleged manipulation of public opinion by a “foreign state”, likely referring to Russia.

Georgescu, known for his advocacy of sovereignty and traditional social values, was banned from participating in the re-run presidential election in May.