The Centru district court Tuesday decided to transfer the case of former Minister of the Interior Gheorghe Papuc and former police commissioner of Chisinau Vladimir Botnari, who are accused of misconduct in office that resulted in the death of Valeriu Boboc and other serious consequences, will be transferred to Buiucani district court. Judge Constantin Uratu argued that the case must be examined by the court that is located in the area where the offense was committed. The lawyers for Gheorghe Papuc and Vladimir Botnari said they cannot understand why the court decided to transfer the case only today. “The place where the offense was committed was known from the very beginning,” said lawyer Gheorghe Avornic, who defends the former commissioner Vladimir Botnari. The case could be examined by the Centru district court as well as the accused in April 2009 worked at the Ministry of the Interior, which is situated in Centru district, the lawyer added. Gheorghe Papuc and Vladimir Botnari continue to plead not guilty. The former Minister of the Interior said he is judged by those who staged the protests and wanted them to degenerate into riots like in Kyrgyzstan, where guns were used and there were many victims. Asked if he recognized somebody in the pictures taken by the video cameras from the Government Building on the night of April 8, where police officers are showing kicking protesters, Gheorghe Papuc said he is not a judge and it was not his job to do it. He also said that if the guilt of Ion Perju, Iacob Gumenita and other suspected police officers is proved, they must be held accountable. Asked who should be punished, the former Minister of the Interior said the organizers of the events must bear responsibility as they made children take to the streets, brought stones and incited the crowd to violence, but he did not want to give names. Gheorghe Papuc stressed that he has been always against the use of torture and that he found out about the cases of torture at police stations several days later and immaterially ordered an inquiry. The evidence collected then in now examined by the court, he said. Gheorghe Papuc and Vladimir Botnari are investigated on the outside, but cannot leave the country. If the court finds them guilty, they will serve 3 to 7 years behind bars.