The hearing where the application to review the conviction sentence of ex-Premier Vlad Filat, passed by the Buiucani Court on June 27, 2016, was put off until March 28. Contacted by IPN, Victor Munteanu, the lawyer for the ex-Premier, said the court hasn’t yet stated if it accepts the application or not.

In the March 13 hearing, the defense of the former Premier asked to replace two judges of the panel for the reason that these took part in the trying of the case and in the formulation of the sentence. The lawyers said the two judges - Andrei Neculcea and Sergey Lazari – cannot examine the revision request impartially, objectively and in an equitable way. But the replacement request was rejected and the court adjourned the hearing until March 28, midday.

Asked what expectations he has, Vlad Filat said he stopped having false hopes. It is important for them to cover all the stages and do their utmost not only to show that justice is needed in the Republic of Moldova, but by very concrete actions to do so that the trials in the country are held publicly and are equitable and based on evidence.

Vlad Filat was arrested in October 2015, being sentenced to nine years in jail for passive corruption and influence peddling on June 27, 2016. He serves his sentence at penitentiary No. 13 in Chisinau. He is also prosecuted in another case for money laundering in considerable amounts. The case was suspended at the end of February by the Chisinau Court and remitted to the Constitutional Court. He faces at most ten years in jail in the second case. The former Prime Minister pleads not guilty.