Traian Băsescu rules out the idea that Călin Georgescu’s case is related to politics / “There was a major delay in moving to tougher measures from the moment he was accused of participating in a possible coup d’état”

Former President Traian Băsescu said on Wednesday evening, September 30, on B1 TV, that the case in which Călin Georgescu was placed in pretrial detention has nothing to do with politics. He claimed that the former presidential candidate should have been arrested earlier, after being charged in the case concerning the alleged attempted coup.

"In my view, there was a major delay in taking tougher measures from the moment he was accused of participating in a possible coup. From that moment, he should have been arrested. Things should not have been dragged out. Instead, he was excessively allowed to carry out all sorts of campaigns to promote his false political persona among people with little education. In fact, this is also why the PISA tests show that we do not really understand what we read, and why someone like Georgescu is successful—someone I told you from the very beginning was a charlatan. This case has nothing to do with politics. The fraud case has nothing to do with the cases concerning the use of Nazi symbols or the coup; these are completely different matters," Traian Băsescu said on B1 TV on Wednesday evening.

At the same time, Băsescu said that Georgescu has a distinct electorate from that of AUR and that it will not automatically transfer to the political party. He described some of those protesting in support of the former candidate as “fanatics.”

The Bucharest Court of Appeal ordered Călin Georgescu’s pretrial detention for 30 days. Georgescu is accused of fraud estimated at 1.1 million euros. His supporters gathered at his residence in Mogoșoaia, at the courthouse, and at the Central Detention Facility.