Irina Lozovan, a Member of Parliament close to the fugitive Ilan Shor, was sentenced today to 6 years in prison for knowingly accepting political party funding from an organized criminal group. The sentence was handed down by the Chisinau Court, Buiucani district, in the absence of the defendant, a member of the political party "Rebirth".



At the action in support of the bașcana Evghenia Guțul, organized in front of the court, demonstrators carried placards with the face of MP Irina Lozovan, with the message: "The people is with Irina Lozovan", IPN reports.

At the same court session, Irina Lozovan's husband, Pavel Gîrleanu, a district councillor in Ocnita, was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Both were wanted.



The MP's lawyer, Anatolie Pitel, said that the evidence presented did not prove the commission of the offense and the sentence will be challenged in the higher court.

The sentence against Irina Lozovan comes almost two weeks after the conviction of another deputy close to Shor, Alexandr Nesterovschi.

The prosecutor's office had previously stated that Irina Lozovan could not leave the territory of the Republic of Moldova through state border crossings. As regards Nesterovschi, the Intelligence and Security Service announced today that the Russian Federation helped him to reach the Transnistrian region. The day before his sentencing, he entered the territory of the Russian Embassy in Chisinau and was then transported by a car with diplomatic plates to the Transnistrian region, where he remains to this day under the direct protection of Russian special services.