DIICOT detains 21-year-old Cosmin Tudoran over repeated terrorist threats in Bucharest
Romanian anti-organized crime prosecutors detained 21-year-old Cosmin Tudoran on 7 October 2026 for continuous terrorist threats targeting ethnic minorities and a Bucharest place of worship.
New terrorism investigation
On 7 October 2026, prosecutors from Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) detained 21-year-old Cosmin Tudoran for 24 hours. Investigators opened a criminal case against Tudoran for continuous terrorist threats directed against ethnic and religious minorities. Between October 2025 and October 2026, Tudoran published repeated messages on social media platforms threatening violent actions against the life, physical integrity, and health of minority members. Investigators also stated that he threatened to destroy a place of worship located in Bucharest to intimidate the population and produce psychological impact.
The evidence administered revealed that, from October 2025 to the present, motivated by religious and ideological reasons, the defendant, through repeated material acts, threatened several people belonging to ethnic and religious minorities on social networks with violent actions directed against their life, bodily integrity, or health.
August 2025 assault on courier
Tudoran was previously prosecuted for a violent attack carried out on 26 August 2025 in Bucharest's Sector 2. On that evening, Tudoran, then 20 years old, approached a delivery worker from Bangladesh waiting at a traffic light and struck him in the face with his fist. Tudoran recorded the assault on his mobile phone while telling the victim in English that he was an invader and ordering him to return to his home country. The courier required one to two days of medical care following the strike.
An off-duty police officer who witnessed the assault immobilized Tudoran moments after the punch. Following his arrest, Tudoran stated to investigators that he could not breathe the same air as those he termed "subhumans" and asserted that he possessed "pure blood".
Judicial history and fascist symbols
The 2025 assault led to immediate legal action. On 27 August 2025, the Sector 2 District Court ordered Tudoran held in preventive detention for 30 days on charges of battery and other violent acts, a ruling upheld by the Bucharest Tribunal on 5 September 2025. During that inquiry, prosecutors expanded the case after reviewing Tudoran's social media activity. Investigators found that on 14 June 2025, Tudoran had distributed a public video collage displaying symbols of the fascist Legionary Movement alongside images of Adolf Hitler before flags showing the Nazi swastika.
- Tudoran posts social media video containing Legionary symbols, Adolf Hitler, and swastikas
- Tudoran assaults a Bangladeshi delivery courier in Bucharest and films the attack
- Sector 2 District Court orders 30-day preventive detention for assault
- Bucharest Tribunal upholds the preventive detention order
- Prosecutors send Tudoran to trial for assault and displaying fascist symbols
- Sector 2 District Court sentences Tudoran to a suspended term of one year and eight months
- DIICOT detains Tudoran for 24 hours on charges of continuous terrorist threats
Prosecutors formally indicted Tudoran on 8 October 2025 for battery and the public display of fascist, legionary, racist, or xenophobic symbols. In September 2026, the Sector 2 District Court issued a first-instance ruling sentencing Tudoran to one year and eight months of suspended imprisonment. That sentence merged a term of one year and six months for the physical assault with a six-month term for distributing banned political symbols.
Pending detention request
The current terrorism inquiry was conducted with judicial police from the DIICOT Central Structure and the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (DCCO), with intelligence support provided by the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI). Following his 24-hour detention on 7 October 2026, DIICOT prepared an application asking the Bucharest Court of Appeal to order 30 days of preventive arrest for Tudoran.
