The Buiucani Court of Chisinau in the evening of December 10 accepted the prosecutors’ request to extend the warrant for the arrest of former Liberal-Democratic Prime Minister Vlad Filat for another 30 days. Filat’s lawyer Igor Popa considers the decision is groundless and intends to challenge it in the Appeals Court, IPN reports.

Prosecutor Adriana Betisor said the extension of the arrest warrant was asked because there is a risk that the accused will influence the witnesses questioned in this case, if he is on the outside.

Before the hearing, Igor Popa read to the journalists a message from Vlad Filat, where he says that this is a political case that was very well thought out, in a diabolic way. According to him, there was no conclusive evidence to prove his guilt so far, while the huge figure of €250 million that was allegedly given to him as bribe is used intentionally, with the aim of impressing the people. “They have to only eliminate me physically, but this won’t help them either,” says Filat’s message.

The former Prime Minister was arrested on October 15 on charges of passive corruption and influence peddling. The lawyers announced that on November 30 Vlad Filat went on hunger strike in protest at the inhuman and degrading treatment to which he is constantly subject at Penitentiary No. 13. On December 7, the politician complained to the European Court of Human Rights about the actions of the prosecutors and the penitentiary’s administration, which he considers as abusive and arbitrary.