Romanian prosecutors crack down on calls to violence issued by far-right party AUR leader
The General Prosecutor's Office in Romania announced on Monday, March 10, that it opened an in rem criminal investigation for incitement following statements made by the leader of far-right, sovereignist party Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), George Simion, on social media. In a recording posted on his Facebook page, he said that those responsible for not allowing Călin Georgescu to run for president "should be skinned in the public square."
The statements in question were made after the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) rejected the candidacy for president of pro-Russian politician Calin Georgescu. He won the first round of the cancelled presidential elections last November and is currently the front-runner in several recent polls. His new candidacy was rejected because he failed “to comply with electoral procedure rules, violating the very obligation to defend democracy, which is founded on fair, honest, and impartial elections," BEC said.
After the decision to reject Călin Georgescu's presidential bid, AUR leader George Simion stated in a recording posted on his Facebook page that "those who committed the coup should be skinned in the public square."
Soon thereafter, the crowd gathered in front of the BEC headquarters in Bucharest to support Georgescu, including many supporters of AUR, quickly became violent after the news of his rejection broke. They threw stones at the gendarmes, injuring 13 of them, and set fire to several objects. They also flipped the car of a TV news station.
"It was established that on the evening of March 9, 2025, in the context of a protest in Bucharest, the president of a political party, who is also a member of the Romanian Parliament, made a series of statements inciting violence," the General Prosecutor’s Office said in a press release.
In response, George Simion said the case was an attempt to associate him with any form of violence. He also added that he was not present at the event.
In Romania, incitement to violence is punishable with prison from 3 months to 3 years or by a fine. If a public official commits the act, the penalty ranges from 1 to 5 years.
The National Audiovisual Council also got involved in the case and decided to remove all posts inciting violence made by AUR president George Simion. The party leader announced that he had learned about the request from the press and personally deleted the incriminated posts.
In a connected case, prosecutors summoned five AUR deputies after they allegedly participated in the violent events in Bucharest's Old Town. Simion also commented on this, accusing the prosecutor in charge of the case of targeting the AUR party.
"In a new demonstration of abuse and political intimidation, five deputies of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians have been summoned to appear tomorrow at the Prosecutor’s Office by our dear friend, Prosecutor Rareș Petru Stan. The same sinister figure who, last year, orchestrated the street apprehension of AUR campaign team members during the European Parliament elections and the confiscation of all our electronic devices, just days before the elections, in a desperate attempt to silence us,” he said on his blog.
George Simion accused the governing coalition of putting pressure on state institutions and said the prosecutors are in league with the government. He also claimed that the government was a “dictatorship.”
(Photo source: Inquam Photos | Sabin Cirstoveanu)
