On December 24, Romania’s High Court of Cassation and Justice extended the arrest of former mercenary Horațiu Potra, his son, and grandson for 30 days. They are accused of attempting a coup d’état at the end of 2024.
Potra, a 55-year-old former French Foreign Legion soldier with dual citizenship and owner of a private military company, worked in Africa. He is known as the “Romanian Prigozhin” because of his ties to mercenaries in Congo.
The case is linked to the annulment of the 2024 presidential election results, which were won by ultra-nationalist Calin Georgescu, a pro-Russian politician and opponent of NATO and aid to Ukraine. According to investigators, on December 7, 2024, Georgescu secretly met with Potra to plan violent actions similar to the storming of the US Capitol. The next day, Potra’s convoy of armed men was heading to Bucharest to provoke riots.
Potra went into hiding, was detained in Dubai in September 2025 while attempting to fly to Moscow, extradited in November, and arrested. Charges have been brought against Georgescu, Potra, and about 20 associates for actions against the constitutional order and illegal possession of weapons.
The defense requested a lighter sentence, but the court rejected it, citing risks to public order. If found guilty, they face up to 20 years in prison.
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