The former head of Directorate 5 within the General Inspectorate of the Police, Valeriu Cojocaru, sentenced on Monday to three years in prison, announces that he has initiated the procedure for requesting political asylum in Germany. The statement was made in a public message, sent from Berlin, reports IPN.

According to Valeriu Cojocaru, he is legally residing in Germany, where he has a permanent place of living and is employed, and the German authorities are informed about his situation. He also states that he left the Republic of Moldova with the court’s permission and that he is not hiding from the Moldovan authorities.

The former head of Directorate 5 explained that he decided to apply for political asylum to protect himself from what he calls illegal acts of revenge by the Moldovan law enforcement agencies. According to Cojocaru, the criminal case in which he is involved would be politicized, and the conviction would be illegal.

Valeriu Cojocaru has appealed to international organizations, including Interpol and Europol, as well as to EU authorities, to examine the actions of the Moldovan authorities, considering them unfounded.

On Monday, January 19, the former head of the IGP, Alexandru Pînzari, Valeriu Cojocaru, and Dorin Damir, the president of the FEA association, were sentenced to three years in prison each, having been found guilty of abuse of power and abuse of office in the case of fictitious hiring at the former Directorate 5 of the National Investigation Inspectorate.

Shortly after the decision was announced, Dorin Damir was arrested and taken to Penitentiary No. 13 to serve his sentence, pending a final decision.

The General Inspectorate of Police has sent a request to Interpol for an international search announcement for the former head of the GIP, Alexandru Pînzari, and Valeriu Cojocaru, former head of Directorate 5.