Romania’s High Court of Cassation and Justice lifted the house arrest imposed on mercenary Horațiu Potra on Thursday, September 3, allowing him to remain free under judicial supervision while standing trial. The court granted Potra’s appeal against the previous preventive measure, Agerpres reported.

Horațiu Potra is one of the main defendants in a case concerning an alleged plot to destabilize Romania following the annulment of the 2024 presidential election.

The High Court released him from pre-trial detention in mid-June and placed him under house arrest, ordering him to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet. He had been in custody since November 2025, when he was brought back to Romania from Dubai together with his son and nephew.

Prosecutors indicted Potra on charges including attempted actions against the constitutional order, illegal possession of weapons and ammunition, violations of rules governing explosives and pyrotechnic materials, and public incitement. He is being tried alongside 20 alleged members of his mercenary group and former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu.

Prosecutors claim Horațiu Potra and his associates planned to infiltrate protests held after the December 2024 election annulment to provoke unrest and violent confrontations.

According to investigators, Cãlin Georgescu and his associates devised the plan during a meeting at a farm in Ciolpani shortly after the election was annulled. Potra allegedly coordinated efforts to bring a group of mercenaries to Bucharest and escalate the demonstrations into actions capable of destabilizing the constitutional order.

The allegations remain subject to examination by the court, and the defendants are presumed innocent until a final ruling.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)