The administration of the Liberal Party (PL) asks that the hearings in the case of Mayor of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca, who is the first deputy chairman of the party, should be public and the materials of the case should be fully published. The Liberals, who consider that this case is political, request that the trial should be monitored by European human rights experts, IPN reports.
In a statement that was presented in a news conference, the PL says Dorin Chirtoaca was arrested in the absence of evidence and with serious violations of the Penal Procedure Code, including the abusive removal of lawyers at the very beginning, which is a violation of the right to defense guaranteed by the Constitution and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. On July 21, the case was sent by prosecutors to court without allowing the defendant and the lawyers to familiarize themselves with it first.
Deputy chairman of the PL Valeriu Munteanu said the hearings should be public as the examination of the case behind closed doors will be a new abuse against Dorin Chirtoaca. The PL requests that the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe should delegate human rights experts to monitor the trial that will have the same quick pace as until now.
The Liberal leader Mihai Ghimpu said Dorin Chirtoaca, who is under house arrest, could not see the materials of the case that was sent to court last weekend. The mayor was informed about the completion of the investigation on July 18 and on July 21 the Prosecutor General’s Office announced that the case was sent to court. This is a serious violation of the Penal Procedure Code, which provides that the accused has the right to examine the materials of the case. The prosecutors want Dorin Chirtoaca to be arrested, investigated and convicted rapidly, during one night, by Communist, Stalinist methods.
Mihai Ghimpu also said that the case of Dorin Chirtoaca goes hand in hand with the Socialists’ referendum on the mayor’s dismissal so that this could be removed from post and those who ordered his arrest could take over the Chisinau City Hall. Those who deal with this case should be held accountable for abuse. The case is orchestrated by the leader of the Democratic Party Vlad Plahotniuc, Igor Dodon and ex-Liberal Anatol Salaru.
Dorin Chirtoaca was arrested in the case of pay parking lots on May 25. In two days he was placed under house arrest. He is accused of passive corruption, acceptance of benefits for hastening particular things and influence peddling. The mayor pleads not guilty.
