Andrei Popoviciu
@andreipopoviciu.bsky.social
Freelance journalist. Work in Lighthouse Reports, Al Jazeera, Le Monde, Washington Post, The Guardian, New Lines Magazine, The Telegraph, Foreign Policy, Associated Press, Der Spiegel, The New Humanitarian etc.
www.andreipopoviciu.com
www.andreipopoviciu.com
Reposted by Andrei Popoviciu
Senegal’s EU-financed crackdown on smuggling isn’t just jailing the organisers – it’s also jailing ordinary people.
From cooking a meal to renting a room, everyday acts are treated as smuggling. Most cases fall apart for lack of evidence – but only after months in detention.
Full story 👇
From cooking a meal to renting a room, everyday acts are treated as smuggling. Most cases fall apart for lack of evidence – but only after months in detention.
Full story 👇
Senegal’s EU-funded migration crackdown puts innocent people behind bars
Senegal is tightening its grip on irregular migration, aiming to make sure fewer people use its shores to embark on the dangerous journey to Europe via the Atlantic. Backed by the EU, the crackdown is...
www.ftm.eu
November 20, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Senegal’s EU-financed crackdown on smuggling isn’t just jailing the organisers – it’s also jailing ordinary people.
From cooking a meal to renting a room, everyday acts are treated as smuggling. Most cases fall apart for lack of evidence – but only after months in detention.
Full story 👇
From cooking a meal to renting a room, everyday acts are treated as smuggling. Most cases fall apart for lack of evidence – but only after months in detention.
Full story 👇
Reposted by Andrei Popoviciu
Detenciones a gran escala en Senegal y otros países africanos. Cárceles llenas de personas inocentes.
Un desastre indescriptible patrocinada por, entre otros, la "agencia de cooperación" FIAP, gobierno de España.
Investigación de @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social para @ftm.eu
www.ftm.eu/articles/ord...
Un desastre indescriptible patrocinada por, entre otros, la "agencia de cooperación" FIAP, gobierno de España.
Investigación de @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social para @ftm.eu
www.ftm.eu/articles/ord...
Senegal’s EU-funded migration crackdown puts innocent people behind bars
Senegal is tightening its grip on irregular migration, aiming to make sure fewer people use its shores to embark on the dangerous journey to Europe via the Atlantic. Backed by the EU, the crackdown is...
www.ftm.eu
November 20, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Detenciones a gran escala en Senegal y otros países africanos. Cárceles llenas de personas inocentes.
Un desastre indescriptible patrocinada por, entre otros, la "agencia de cooperación" FIAP, gobierno de España.
Investigación de @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social para @ftm.eu
www.ftm.eu/articles/ord...
Un desastre indescriptible patrocinada por, entre otros, la "agencia de cooperación" FIAP, gobierno de España.
Investigación de @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social para @ftm.eu
www.ftm.eu/articles/ord...
Reposted by Andrei Popoviciu
“At Aleppo University Hospital, the scars left by sanctions that once aimed to punish a dictator continue to punish a country.” As the US lifts sanctions on Syria, @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social investigates the devastation they’ve left behind @inthesetimes.com, with photos by @corcode.bsky.social.
Syria's Long Road to Recovery
Western sanctions on Syria are being lifted, but the damage they inflicted on the country's healthcare infrastructure is long-term.
inthesetimes.com
July 10, 2025 at 2:50 PM
“At Aleppo University Hospital, the scars left by sanctions that once aimed to punish a dictator continue to punish a country.” As the US lifts sanctions on Syria, @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social investigates the devastation they’ve left behind @inthesetimes.com, with photos by @corcode.bsky.social.
Reposted by Andrei Popoviciu
“If these tools are so brutal, why is their impact on civilians only acknowledged once an enemy becomes a friend?” As the US lifts sanctions on Syria, @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social investigates the lasting devastation they’ve left behind @inthesetimes.com, with photos by @corcode.bsky.social.
Syria's Long Road to Recovery
Western sanctions on Syria are being lifted, but the damage they inflicted on the country's healthcare infrastructure is long-term.
inthesetimes.com
July 10, 2025 at 11:54 AM
“If these tools are so brutal, why is their impact on civilians only acknowledged once an enemy becomes a friend?” As the US lifts sanctions on Syria, @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social investigates the lasting devastation they’ve left behind @inthesetimes.com, with photos by @corcode.bsky.social.
Western sanctions on Syria were meant to punish the regime but mostly crushed ordinary lives. The healthcare system was hit hardest and will struggle to recover long after sanctions are gone. Read more in my report for @inthesetimes.com
inthesetimes.com/article/syri...
inthesetimes.com/article/syri...
Syria's Long Road to Recovery
Western sanctions on Syria are being lifted, but the damage they inflicted on the country's healthcare infrastructure is long-term.
inthesetimes.com
July 11, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Western sanctions on Syria were meant to punish the regime but mostly crushed ordinary lives. The healthcare system was hit hardest and will struggle to recover long after sanctions are gone. Read more in my report for @inthesetimes.com
inthesetimes.com/article/syri...
inthesetimes.com/article/syri...
In Sudan, @guypeterson.bsky.social and I attended a wedding that almost didn’t happen. A year ago, famine and war pushed this community to the brink. Thanks to their community, they made it happen. Our story for @csmonitor.bsky.social: www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa...
In Sudan, a bride and her village celebrate love in a time of war
Still recovering from the worst hunger crisis in living memory, a community in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains gathers to celebrate a marriage.
www.csmonitor.com
July 1, 2025 at 7:42 AM
In Sudan, @guypeterson.bsky.social and I attended a wedding that almost didn’t happen. A year ago, famine and war pushed this community to the brink. Thanks to their community, they made it happen. Our story for @csmonitor.bsky.social: www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa...
Sudan’s war is now the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis—14M displaced, famine, war crimes committed with impunity. @guypeterson.bsky.social and I reported from the Nuba Mountains, where a rebel group just allied with the genocidal RSF. Our first dispatch www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature...
Aid blocked as “unimaginable suffering” grips Sudan’s Nuba Mountains
The situation is worsening as the rainy season sets in amid aid funding cuts and an escalation in fighting.
www.thenewhumanitarian.org
June 26, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Sudan’s war is now the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis—14M displaced, famine, war crimes committed with impunity. @guypeterson.bsky.social and I reported from the Nuba Mountains, where a rebel group just allied with the genocidal RSF. Our first dispatch www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature...
For @newlinesmag.bsky.social I wrote about a growing use of political bans to protect democracies and whether they might actually do more to damage it with examples from Romania, France and Germany.
NEW: As extremist parties edge closer to power across Europe, states mull bans and disqualifications. Yet such measures risk undermining democracy as they seek to protect it, argues @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social for @newlinesmag.bsky.social.
newlinesmag.com/argument/the...
newlinesmag.com/argument/the...
The Democratic Exclusion Dilemma
The rise of extremist parties is leading states to weigh political bans, but they run the risk of further eroding public trust
newlinesmag.com
June 4, 2025 at 1:10 PM
For @newlinesmag.bsky.social I wrote about a growing use of political bans to protect democracies and whether they might actually do more to damage it with examples from Romania, France and Germany.
In late January I went to Syria to report on what happened to the tens of thousands of children of detainees that disappeared in the bowels of Assad’s prisons. For @foreignpolicy.com I wrote about what I found. With photos by @corcode.bsky.social: foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/03/s...
Syria’s Missing Children
Children of detainees disappeared in orphanages. As many remain unaccounted for, their relatives fear the worst.
foreignpolicy.com
June 4, 2025 at 11:04 AM
In late January I went to Syria to report on what happened to the tens of thousands of children of detainees that disappeared in the bowels of Assad’s prisons. For @foreignpolicy.com I wrote about what I found. With photos by @corcode.bsky.social: foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/03/s...
Read our dispatch from a cholera ward in South Sudan, where a cholera epidemic is spiraling out of control as NGOs and aid organizations are cutting funds in a country that depends on them more than any other. With photos by @guypeterson.bsky.social
‘The worst we’ve ever seen’: Cholera wards buckle as South Sudan races to contain deadly outbreak
The country’s epidemic, which began last October, has spiralled out of control and has already claimed more than 1,000 lives
@andreipopoviciu.bsky.social reports
www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...
The country’s epidemic, which began last October, has spiralled out of control and has already claimed more than 1,000 lives
@andreipopoviciu.bsky.social reports
www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...
‘The worst we’ve ever seen’: Cholera wards buckle as South Sudan races to contain deadly outbreak
The country’s epidemic, which began last October, has spiralled out of control and has already claimed more than 1,000 lives
www.telegraph.co.uk
May 29, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Read our dispatch from a cholera ward in South Sudan, where a cholera epidemic is spiraling out of control as NGOs and aid organizations are cutting funds in a country that depends on them more than any other. With photos by @guypeterson.bsky.social
Reposted by Andrei Popoviciu
Dans cette enquête, @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social et Ana Poenariu explorent les liens entre Calin Georgescu et Horatiu Potra, mercenaire franco-roumain, et leurs connexions russes.
Potra est accusé d'avoir planifié une "insurrection" en utilisant la "force létale" à Bucarest en déc.2024
#Roumanie
Potra est accusé d'avoir planifié une "insurrection" en utilisant la "force létale" à Bucarest en déc.2024
#Roumanie
The shadowy warlord behind Romania’s wrecked election
Romania’s 2024 presidential election was controversially canceled for suspected foreign interference. Horațiu Potra, an ally of banned candidate Călin Georgescu, is accused of plotting an insurrect…
www.politico.eu
May 21, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Dans cette enquête, @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social et Ana Poenariu explorent les liens entre Calin Georgescu et Horatiu Potra, mercenaire franco-roumain, et leurs connexions russes.
Potra est accusé d'avoir planifié une "insurrection" en utilisant la "force létale" à Bucarest en déc.2024
#Roumanie
Potra est accusé d'avoir planifié une "insurrection" en utilisant la "force létale" à Bucarest en déc.2024
#Roumanie
Reposted by Andrei Popoviciu
What did Nicușor Dan’s 9-year old daughter tell him when he said he would run for President of Romania? find out in this @politico.com portrait of the common sense candidate who bucked the trend of populism. @timross1.bsky.social @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social
www.politico.eu/article/nicu...
www.politico.eu/article/nicu...
18 hours in the making of a president: Inside Nicușor Dan’s election win
Romania’s new leader told POLITICO how he will approach international affairs and what he will do to rebuild trust in a democracy battered by corruption, economic strife and Russian meddling.
www.politico.eu
May 21, 2025 at 7:48 AM
What did Nicușor Dan’s 9-year old daughter tell him when he said he would run for President of Romania? find out in this @politico.com portrait of the common sense candidate who bucked the trend of populism. @timross1.bsky.social @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social
www.politico.eu/article/nicu...
www.politico.eu/article/nicu...
My take on Romania’s presidential election on Sunday for @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Romania might be about to make a Trump-admiring former football hooligan its president. This is why | Andrei Popoviciu
The election of George Simion would be a troubling – but understandable – repudiation of the country’s pro-EU establishment, says Andrei Popoviciu, a Romanian investigative journalist
www.theguardian.com
May 15, 2025 at 7:40 PM
My take on Romania’s presidential election on Sunday for @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Andrei Popoviciu
De la #RDC aux élections en #Roumanie :
Ces derniers mois, j’ai participé à une enquête avec @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social, Emmet Livingstone et Ana Poenariu sur +1000 sous-traitants militaires roumains en #RDC jusqu’à la chute de Goma
Publiée dans Le Soir, The Guardian, La Croix et PublicRecord 1/
Ces derniers mois, j’ai participé à une enquête avec @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social, Emmet Livingstone et Ana Poenariu sur +1000 sous-traitants militaires roumains en #RDC jusqu’à la chute de Goma
Publiée dans Le Soir, The Guardian, La Croix et PublicRecord 1/
A Goma, ces militaires roumains qui ont floué le gouvernement congolais
En République démocratique du Congo, plus d’un millier de Roumains et Moldaves ont été recrutés pour former l’armée et sécuriser Goma. Une mission entachée par des dérives et des actes à la limite du ...
www.lesoir.be
April 2, 2025 at 3:38 PM
De la #RDC aux élections en #Roumanie :
Ces derniers mois, j’ai participé à une enquête avec @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social, Emmet Livingstone et Ana Poenariu sur +1000 sous-traitants militaires roumains en #RDC jusqu’à la chute de Goma
Publiée dans Le Soir, The Guardian, La Croix et PublicRecord 1/
Ces derniers mois, j’ai participé à une enquête avec @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social, Emmet Livingstone et Ana Poenariu sur +1000 sous-traitants militaires roumains en #RDC jusqu’à la chute de Goma
Publiée dans Le Soir, The Guardian, La Croix et PublicRecord 1/
Reposted by Andrei Popoviciu
Why Romania really matters, and one man’s mission to save it from the cynicism that Putin exploits. Interview with Bucharest mayor and presidential candidate Nicusor Dan. By @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social and me
www.politico.eu/article/roma...
www.politico.eu/article/roma...
The Romanian mathematician trying to stop Putin and Trump wrecking the West
Elon Musk and JD Vance don’t know enough to judge the country’s election crisis, and Trump should be tougher on Putin, says Bucharest Mayor and presidential candidate Nicușor Dan.
www.politico.eu
March 28, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Why Romania really matters, and one man’s mission to save it from the cynicism that Putin exploits. Interview with Bucharest mayor and presidential candidate Nicusor Dan. By @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social and me
www.politico.eu/article/roma...
www.politico.eu/article/roma...
For the better past of last year we’ve been investigating Romanian mercenaries in DR Congo—who they are, their leader and his wealth, their operations and the mistakes that have led to the fall of the region whose army they were supposed to train and help protect.
March 14, 2025 at 12:53 PM
For the better past of last year we’ve been investigating Romanian mercenaries in DR Congo—who they are, their leader and his wealth, their operations and the mistakes that have led to the fall of the region whose army they were supposed to train and help protect.
If you've seen the recent violence happening in Romania, I wrote in the Guardian about how we got here and how the discourse of the new wave of far right politicians is materialising into historical revisionism and violence. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
In Romania, the far right has unleashed a tide of hate and resurrected our fascist ghosts | Andrei Popoviciu
Economic uncertainty and polarisation are a potent cocktail that extremist politicians such as Cǎlin Georgescu thrive on, says Romanian investigative journalist Andrei Popoviciu
www.theguardian.com
March 11, 2025 at 1:57 PM
If you've seen the recent violence happening in Romania, I wrote in the Guardian about how we got here and how the discourse of the new wave of far right politicians is materialising into historical revisionism and violence. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The story of the Malas brothers, two twin actors we met in Damascus after 14 years of exile in France. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...
‘A dream come true’: Syrian twin actors return home after 14 years of exile in France
For the 41-year-old brothers, returning to their flat is bittersweet. Their apartment was more than just a home. It was once a stage, a space where they performed original theatre plays away from the ...
www.theguardian.com
February 25, 2025 at 10:10 AM
The story of the Malas brothers, two twin actors we met in Damascus after 14 years of exile in France. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...
Was very surprised a few months ago to hear that I was chosen as Friends of Europe’s european young leaders in the #EYLClassOf2025. I look forward to joining this community of very impressive people across Europe. #EYL40 🔗 bit.ly/EYLClassOf2025
January 29, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Was very surprised a few months ago to hear that I was chosen as Friends of Europe’s european young leaders in the #EYLClassOf2025. I look forward to joining this community of very impressive people across Europe. #EYL40 🔗 bit.ly/EYLClassOf2025
Catch me on @politico Tech Podcast on the latest about Romania’s elections
open.spotify.com/episode/02tU...
open.spotify.com/episode/02tU...
Police raids, fleeing TikTokers and Romania’s cancelled election
POLITICO Tech · Episode
open.spotify.com
December 19, 2024 at 11:16 AM
Catch me on @politico Tech Podcast on the latest about Romania’s elections
open.spotify.com/episode/02tU...
open.spotify.com/episode/02tU...
Romanian authorities launched a series of raids as part of three investigations into Russian interference in presidential elections, the rise in use of fascist symbols and death threats to journalists and minority rights groups.
www.politico.eu/article/cali...
www.politico.eu/article/cali...
Prosecutors raid properties of key Georgescu backer in Romania election probe
Investigation focuses on money laundering, bribing voters and computer fraud in connection with Romania’s canceled presidential election.
www.politico.eu
December 7, 2024 at 4:16 PM
Romanian authorities launched a series of raids as part of three investigations into Russian interference in presidential elections, the rise in use of fascist symbols and death threats to journalists and minority rights groups.
www.politico.eu/article/cali...
www.politico.eu/article/cali...
Romanian presidential elections got cancelled yesterday. I’m sure everyone is wondering what happened. We gave it a go at explaining it for @politico.eu
www.politico.eu/article/roma...
www.politico.eu/article/roma...
Romanian election: What the hell is going on?
Here’s what you need to know after an alleged Russian hybrid attack prompted Romania’s Constitutional Court to cancel the presidential election.
www.politico.eu
December 7, 2024 at 11:20 AM
Romanian presidential elections got cancelled yesterday. I’m sure everyone is wondering what happened. We gave it a go at explaining it for @politico.eu
www.politico.eu/article/roma...
www.politico.eu/article/roma...
Tonight at a pro-Europe rally in Bucharest with Tim Ross we heard from Romanians who are terrified as ultranationalist and Russia-backed Calin Georgescu tops the polls as the favorite for Sunday’s presidential run off.
www.politico.eu/article/buch...
www.politico.eu/article/buch...
Romania’s pro-Europeans fear Putin is pushing them back to dictatorship
Far-right NATO-skeptic Calin Georgescu is on track to win the Romanian presidency, thanks to a Russia-influenced campaign.
www.politico.eu
December 5, 2024 at 10:50 PM
Tonight at a pro-Europe rally in Bucharest with Tim Ross we heard from Romanians who are terrified as ultranationalist and Russia-backed Calin Georgescu tops the polls as the favorite for Sunday’s presidential run off.
www.politico.eu/article/buch...
www.politico.eu/article/buch...
Spoke on @europeanspod.bsky.social about Romania’s tense election season and why people paged the way for ultranationalist Calin Georgescu win the presidency.
Friend of the show @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social joins us to explain why his dad and many other voters backed the TikTok-fuelled campaign of far-right Romanian presidential candidate Călin Georgescu.
open.spotify.com/episode/3A3v...
open.spotify.com/episode/3A3v...
The manosphere, the 'TikTok messiah', and 132 hamsters
The Europeans | European news, politics and culture · Episode
open.spotify.com
December 5, 2024 at 10:49 PM
Spoke on @europeanspod.bsky.social about Romania’s tense election season and why people paged the way for ultranationalist Calin Georgescu win the presidency.
Many were shocked by the results of Romania's presidential election. I wrote about how we could process the fact that people close to us have made different choices and how we can navigate that as a society. Dark times ahead if we don't listen to each other
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
My father voted for Romania’s ultra-nationalist. I am beginning to understand why | Andrei Popoviciu
We need to hear out family and friends who feel mainstream parties have let them down. This was a cry for help, says journalist Andrei Popoviciu
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2024 at 10:54 AM
Many were shocked by the results of Romania's presidential election. I wrote about how we could process the fact that people close to us have made different choices and how we can navigate that as a society. Dark times ahead if we don't listen to each other
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...