The period during which former Prime Minister Vlad Filat will stay in custody was extended for 90 days. A decision to this effect was taken by the Buiucani Court on January 5. The defense intends to challenge the decision in the Appeals Court. Vlad Filat attended today’s hearing. Even if he wasn’t allowed to make statements, while he was escorted by masked men he said he is innocent and the show goes one, IPN reports.

Though the defense asked that the hearing should be public, their request was rejected. Prosecutor Adriana Betisor said they insisted on holding the hearing behind closed doors so as not to affect the investigation as a part of the case was sent to court, while the examination into the other counts goes on. So, the hearing will be public when the case is fully sent to court.

After the hearing, Vlad Filat’s lawyer Igor Popa said that his client’s rights continue to be violated. “Not making the trial public is a serious violation. The procedure regarding the joining and separation of criminal cases was also not respected. A part of the case was detached and sent to court in breach of the Code of Penal Procedure. It’s not clear why certain parts remained to be further examined,” he stated. According to him, the right to defense was also violated because the lawyers had only two days to examine 22 volumes of materials.

The next hearing in the case of Vlad Filat was scheduled for January 15.

The case of Vlad Filat was sent to court two weeks ago. The ex-Premier faces 7 to 15 years in jail for influence peddling and passive corruption.