Romanian prosecutors detain six people on treason allegedly seeking Russian help for conspiracy to incite coups.
Romania has detained six people on charges of attempting to overthrow the state with the help of Russia, prosecutors said, and a 101-year-old former Army major said his home had been attacked as part of an investigation.
The suspect was taken into custody Wednesday. Romania (a member of the European Union and NATO) declared his vice persona grata after saying that the military attacks of the Russian Embassy and his vice persona were conduct that violated the diplomatic rules. Moscow says it corresponds to the movement.
Police said Thursday that the group was established to be said to undermine the “sovereignty and independence” of the Romanian state by “political undermining the country’s defensive capabilities.”
The investigation, supported by Romania’s intelligence agency, allegedly called on the group to “removal of the current constitutional order, disbanding political parties,” and the establishment of a new government formed by its members, police said.
“To achieve the destabilization goal, group representatives have actively requested support from officers within the embassy of the Russian Federation,” said SRI, Romania’s national intelligence agency.
It said that the two Russian diplomats “have taken steps to gather information in areas of strategic interest and support the group’s anti-constitutional movements.”
Two of the suspects traveled to Moscow in January where they met people who were willing to support the group’s acquisition of power in Romania, prosecutors said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has dismissed the charges as “speculation.”
“Bucharest’s obsession with searching for ‘reports of Russia’ in Romania’s internal political struggles is not a new phenomenon,” the ministry said on social media platform X.
Prosecutors said the group had a military-style structure and the judicial source was named 101-year-old former Romanian Army Major General Radu Theodore and the suspect.
Theodoru, who repeatedly praised Romanian fascist World War II leaders, said in a recorded interview with her daughter that she believes the current government represents a “anti-Roman state organized to take away the country.”
“They’ve wasted this country and now they find a reason to defend themselves and to misinform the public,” he added.
Prosecutors said the group has taken steps to negotiate with external forces on the potential withdrawal of Romania, which shares the border with Ukraine from the NATO Military Alliance.
They said the group aimed to establish a new government, to eliminate current constitutional orders, to introduce new flags, national anthems and to change the name of the country.
Political tensions have been rising in Romania as the December presidential election was in opposition to Russia’s interference accusations (Moscow was rejected) endorsing the December presidential election amidst the support of far-right frontline Karin Georgek.
Georgescu is currently investigating six charges, all of which he denies.
Prosecutor sources said the investigation released Thursday was unrelated to Georgescu. A judicial source cited by television station Antena3 said one of the ousted Russian officials was roughly linked to the suspect in a Georgescu investigation.
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