Romanian police detain presidential candidate Georgescu

Romanian police have detained former independent presidential candidate Calin Georgescu to take him to the Prosecutor General's Office for questioning, Agerpres reported, citing sources.

Following Georgescu's arrest, a group of parliamentarians from the Alliance for the Unification of Romanians, which supports his candidacy in the presidential elections, said that they would go to the Prosecutor General's Office, led by the party's leader, George Simion, to "demand explanations." Gendarmes are currently stationed around the office building.

Also today, prosecutors and police carried out about 40 searches in five Romanian counties as part of a criminal case on actions against the constitutional order and false statements about the sources of funding for the election campaign. Among the suspects is military instructor Horatiu Potra, who is close to Georgescu.

Today, the High Court of Cassation (the highest court) rejected Georgescu's claim that the documents declassified by the Romanian secret services, on the basis of which the presidential elections were annulled last December, should not be taken into account. Thus, Georgescu's demand for the resumption of the second round of the presidential elections has been finally rejected by the Romanian courts.