The national flag on the Parliament Building is flown at half-mast, while the flags in front of the institution were tied with a black ribbon in memory of writer Nicolae Dabija, IPN reports.

March 15, when the writer’s funeral is held, was declared a mourning day. Under a presidential decree, the national flags all over the country will be flown at half-mast today and a moment’s silence will be observed at midday.

Academician Nicolae Dabija, writer, scriptwriter and editor, died in the morning of March 12. He contracted COVID-19 and was being treated at the Emergency Medicine Institute.

Nicolae Dabija was born on July 15, 1948. He was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova. In 1989-1991, he sat on the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, while in 1990-1994 and 1998-2001 –in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova.