Romanian lawyer Chitic Mircea Victor Daniel has accused Romanian President Traian Basescu of assaulting him verbally and physically in the Black Sea resort of Neptun last weekend. He has reccounted the incident on TV on Monday, saying he was hit by Basescu following a rough exchange of words. But the lawyer figures at the Registry of Commerce as an associate in several companies - including one where he is associated with Sorin Rosca Stanescu, a former journalist and media owner known for his opposition towards Basescu.

Contacted by HotNews.ro, Chitic said he did not have close links with Sorin Rosca Stanescu, with whom he only talked a couple of times, but that he was an associate with him in the firm because of good relations between his father and Stanescu.

He told HotNews.ro that he has yet to decide whether to submit a complaint against President Basescu, but said that witnesses of the event in Neptun told him they would not get involved in the case. Chitic said he was ready to take any alternative test to prove he tells the truth.

He said that the firm he was associated in with Sorin Rosca Stanescu has never been active and that the association was due to his father, a playwright and journalist who knew Stanescu well.

The information on the links between Chitic and Stanescu first appeared on journalist Dan Badea's blog.