In Romania, Gendarme Detained for the First Time Over Assault on Trans Tourist
In Bucharest, military prosecutors have initiated criminal proceedings and detained a Romanian gendarmerie officer for 24 hours on charges of abusive conduct and physical assault against Bellehaze, a 34-year-old French transgender content creator. According to human rights group ACCEPT, this marks the first time in modern Romanian history that an investigation into alleged violence by law enforcement officers against an LGBT individual has led to the formal detention of a suspect.
According to a statement by Romanian human rights organization ACCEPT and reports from national news agency Agerpres, the incident occurred on the night of June 6, 2026. The suspect was identified as Chief Warrant Officer Marian Iancu of the Bucharest General Directorate of Gendarmerie. The Military Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Bucharest Military Tribunal charged him with abusive behavior in the line of duty, inflicting bodily injuries requiring two to three days of medical care, and uttering degrading slurs, categorizing the offense as hate-motivated based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Prosecutors requested pre-trial detention, but a military tribunal judge rejected the arrest petition, ordering the gendarme to be investigated while released under judicial supervision.
According to the victim, a French citizen visiting Bucharest for an international industry event, she woke up in an unfamiliar flat after a night out in the capital’s Old Town with no recollection of how she arrived, stating she was sedated and sexually assaulted. Following an altercation with the flat’s 74-year-old occupant, a gendarme patrol escorted her to Bucharest Police Precinct No. 27. Bellehaze reported that inside the station, officers threw her to the floor in the elevator, beat her repeatedly, and hurled transphobic insults. Her complaint regarding sexual assault by the homeowner is being investigated separately by Sector 3 prosecutors in Bucharest.
Bucharest Police stated that an internal inspection found no evidence of physical violence committed by police department personnel at the precinct, noting that the escort had been conducted by gendarmes. The Bucharest Gendarmerie likewise launched an internal inquiry and stated it is fully cooperating with military prosecutors, providing all requested case files and documentation. Human rights lawyer Iustina Ionescu, who represents the victim, emphasized that prompt identification of hate motives is vital for restoring public trust in state institutions. According to a 2024 survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), only 7% of Romanian LGBT people report physical or sexual assaults to the police, with 44% of non-reporting victims citing convictions that authorities would take no action.
Asociația ACCEPT is Romania’s leading non-governmental human rights organization advocating for LGBTQ+ equality since 1996. The Bucharest-based association led the legal campaign that successfully repealed Article 200 of the Romanian Penal Code in 2001, which had criminalized homosexuality, and currently provides legal assistance to victims of discrimination while representing the community before national and European courts.
Previously, Urania covered the September 2026 session of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers , which reviewed Romania’s failure to execute judgments of the European Court of Human Rights; rights advocates specifically highlighted the assault on the French visitor at the Bucharest station as evidence of systemic deficiencies in hate crime investigations. The outlet also reported on the legal dispute regarding the repeated ban on the Pride march in the Romanian city of Oradea .
