A Romanian appeals court has ruled to fully release a former mercenary and chief bodyguard of far-right pro-Russian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu.
Horatiu Potra was detained on December 8 for violating the law on weapons and ammunition and for public incitement after he and a group of armed associates were detained by police while heading toward Bucharest, where Georgescu and dozens of his supporters were gathering.
Georgescu was protesting a decision by the Constitutional Court to cancel a runoff presidential vote scheduled for December 8 following claims that his shock first-round victory had been aided by a Moscow-orchestrated influence campaign using Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok.
SEE ALSO: Romania's 'King Of TikTok' Tied To Alleged Scheme Boosting Far-Right Presidential CandidatePolice officers who stopped Potra and about 20 of his associates found guns, machetes, axes, and knives in their cars that, officials said, could have been used to "disrupt public order and peace."
Media reports said Potra and his companions had booked hotels in downtown Bucharest close to University Square, where anti-Georgescu protesters had gathered in previous days.
Prosecutors had asked judges to hold Potra in preventive custody but a court in the southern city of Ploiesti on December 8 only ordered him placed under judiciary control for 60 days -- a measure that provided for him to show up at a police station on a regular basis for the duration of the investigation into the accusations.
One of his associates, Andrei Florin Filip, 22, was also placed under judiciary control.
On December 13, an appeals court in Ploiești canceled the judiciary control for both men following appeals filed by their lawyers. The ruling is definitive and cannot be appealed.
Romania's Supreme Defense Council declassified documents allegedly proving Georgescu's presidential bid had been aided by a campaign led by a "state actor" which was not named, prompting the Constitutional Court to cancel the runoff between Georgescu and pro-European center-right candidate Elena Lasconi.
SEE ALSO: Romanian Court Annuls Presidential Election, Throws Process Into ChaosA former fighter in France's Foreign Legion, Potra is reported to have led a 900-strong contingent of Romanian military contractors who fought in the African country of Congo.
He is said to have had ties to the Russian mercenary group Wagner, which fought in Ukraine and was established by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin who died in a plane crash last year after staging a short-lived revolt against Russia's military leadership.
Potra, who has denied having any links to Wagner, appears in a photo last year in the company of Russian Ambassador to Romania Valery Kuzmin at a ceremony at the embassy marking Russia's national day.
Searches of Potra's residence turned up some 2 million euros ($2.1 million) inside safes as well as weapons and about 15 kilograms of gold bars worth an estimated $1.27 million.