The episode took place at the beginning of the rally, when Călin Georgescu’s supporters could only protest on the sidewalk, in an area delimited with fences by the riot police.
Journalists attacked by several protesters
Several journalists were insulted and threatened by several protesters. The Digi24 reporter was unable to broadcast live in front of the demonstrators, who threw pretzels and bottles in her direction. A gendarme intervened to calm the situation. At the same time, another television station’s car was attacked by protesters. They tore off the license plate and wheel covers.
The Bucharest Gendarmerie later announced in a statement that the criminal investigation bodies had been notified for destruction, after several people carried out “aggression and intimidation actions” against journalists during the protest in Constitution Square. Two of the people involved have already been identified. “During the public protest meeting, around 12:00, a group of people headed towards the area where the live broadcast teams of some television stations were stationed, with the aim of expressing their dissatisfaction with the way in which they presented certain information to the public. The gendarmes observed these acts of aggression and intimidation, which is why they intervened to stop them and apply the necessary legal measures,” the Bucharest Gendarmerie announced on Friday afternoon.
The Police also started an investigation.
“The Capital Police were notified today by the representatives of the Gendarmerie that, during these protests, several protest participants disconnected a device from inside a vehicle belonging to a television station and destroyed a license plate that was mounted on the respective car. At the same time, the persons in question unscrewed the cap from a wheel, and subsequently the police officers from the 17th and 18th precincts went to the address and, of course, conducted an on-site investigation, with a written complaint being drawn up by the representatives of the television station. Subsequently, the gendarmes brought five people to the 18th police station who may be related to the act of destruction that I mentioned earlier. At this moment, investigations are being carried out by police officers within the 18th section to accurately establish the factual situation and to take legal measures, and the competent prosecutor’s office will also be notified”, said Cristina Erbașu, spokesperson for the Capital Police.
The rector of the SNSPA, Remus Pricopie, claims, in a message published on his Facebook page, that the demonstration is part of a Kremlin strategy. “Călin Georgescu’s bosses in Moscow have been trying for a month to organize, in Bucharest, a mining riot or at least a political brawl, in the streets. Anything, as long as there is violence. Possibly with bloodshed, to produce the greatest possible tensions in society. George Simion is also contributing to this effort, with those he still has by his side, after the failure in the presidential elections,” he said.
CNA demands protection of journalists after incidents at pro-Georgescu rally
Valentin Jucan, the vice president of the National Council of Journalists, is calling for better protection of journalists by the authorities, after several episodes of violence were reported against teams of journalists covering the event during the protest by supporters of Călin Georgescu. Jucan told Digi24 that he had notified the Ministry of Interior and warned that the aim was to “demolish and destroy the values of freedom and democracy”.
“We, as an authority, have already notified the Ministry of the Interior regarding this type of demonstration. So, we have done what we had to do legally to the Ministry of the Interior, but it is very important at this moment that the Ministry of the Interior communicates with us and tells us specifically what it plans to do in terms of prevention,” said Jucan.
“We saw in your images that there was a prompt reaction by the gendarmes, but I think more could have been done and we believe that the Ministry of the Interior should at this moment call for consultations representatives of television and the media in general, because it is very clear that at least until the presidential elections, this type of public behavior and these legal or illegal public gatherings will continue, and journalists, because they have to carry out their journalistic act, will have to be present and broadcast from the spot. If these actions continue to escalate and if we continue to see what happened today, without journalists being truly physically protected, things will reach a point where I fear we will no longer be able to talk about good communication and normality. We are no longer in normality,” he added.
“What is happening is very serious and it is very difficult for me, as a representative of the authority, as well as other members of the National Council of the Republic, to be able to accept and understand that the freedom of expression of those who are there must be protected, but also the freedom of expression of the journalists present there. However, we are currently in a conflict between the two freedoms. This is unacceptable. When the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution are used against democracy itself, we have a very big problem in society and we have a very big problem in terms of trust in these principles”, the official stressed.
“I believe that this is exactly what is being pursued, the demolition and destruction of the values of freedom and democracy, beyond journalists and beyond freedom of expression itself. We must address the Ministry of the Interior again and propose that the ministry have a meeting with representatives of the media and clearly arrive at some concrete measures”, Jucan continued.
He also says that “freedom of expression still has some limits when it turns into violence – into verbal violence, but especially into physical violence”. “We are no longer discussing democratic principles, but we are discussing and must analyze a decadence and a collapse of the correct meaning of democracy. We are still in the phase of building democracy. That is why our effort to protect our democracy is all the more important. Or precisely, attacking the press or a part of the press by pitting itself against another part of the press is an act of suicide”, concluded the CNA official.
Calin Geporgescu urged people to go to the streets
The protest is taking place at the urging of Călin Georgescu, who called on people to support the initiative of a group of lawyers to review the CCR decision in the event of the annulment of the elections, calling the demonstration “The Great Legal Union of Romanians”. On Thursday, he again urged people to come out to protest, also announcing that he had left the country. “I will take our choir to the heart of Europe, to the highest courts. Each of us is doing our part in this historic mission through which we defend our democracy”.
Călin Georgescu’s supporters were helped to reach the protest in front of the CCR through a website called “E Pace”. Those who created the page say they responded “at the urging of Mr. Călin Georgescu” and have the role of facilitating “the participation of citizens from all counties in Romania, in the “Great Legal Union” demonstration of Romanians”.
Among the organizers of this protest is Călin Donca, a businessman from Brașov who spent three months in pretrial detention for cryptocurrency fraud in 2023. Supporters were urged to register on this website to be supported in reaching the protest, and there are phone numbers for the counties available there. By the time of writing, about 56,000 people had registered on the website.
There are phone numbers for all counties, except Caraș-Severin, Giurgiu, Teleorman and Vrancea. “EPACE organizes, at the urging of Mr. Călin Georgescu, the participation of citizens from all counties in Romania, in the “Great Legal Union” demonstration of Romanians. This Great Legal Union will take place on 10.01.2025 in front of the C.C.R,” it is mentioned on the organizers’ website.
One of the organizers actively promoting the protest on TikTok is Călin Donca, a businessman from Brașov who was arrested in 2023 in a case in which DIICOT accuses him of causing damage of over 4 million lei to the state budget through evasion and of defrauding buyers of a cryptocurrency he created of $700,000.
Donca was in pretrial detention for three months, later being placed under judicial control. Călin Donca made his fortune first from the photovoltaic panel business, then from real estate and cryptocurrencies, and entered the top 500 richest Romanians as a young man.
For the cryptocurrency fraud, Călin Donca created the company Donca Energy Brașov, whose business is the production of electricity, brasov.net writes. According to the local publication, Donca and the members of the group created a type of cryptocurrency they called Solix, and to convince people to invest, he posted various videos on social networks, in which he talked about business success through such an investment. Călin Donca was extremely active on social networks, where he gave his fans advice on how to succeed in life.