Levinta brothers imprisoned again

Brothers Pavel and Vitalie Levinta were sent back to prison after the Chisinau Court of Appeals sentenced them to 15 and 16 years, respectively, for first degree murder and attempted murder. They were cleared of other charges, included illegal possession of firearms and kidnapping, as their prescriptive terms expired. The brothers' lawyer Veaceslav Turcan has told Info-Prim Neo that despite being seriously ill, one of the brothers left the hospital and surrendered to demonstrate compliance with the court's decision. Earlier this week, Turcan said that if his clients were sentenced, he would lodge a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. Pavel and Vitalie Levinta were arrested in 2001 on accusations of being members of a criminal organization. The brothers were subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison. The ECHR delivered two decisions on their complaints, finding that the evidence used in their trial had been obtained by means of torture. After serving 10 years, the brothers were released, and the case was sent for re-examination.