Lilian Popescu, ex-chairman of Ialoveni district and former member of the Democratic Party, claims he was “a scapegoat in a political show” and that for four years his name had been “sullied” by the Democratic Party of Moldova. Lilian Popescu says that, since October 2015, he has gone through “difficult, horrible days”, being dragged through different courts.

In a press conference at IPN, Lilian Popescu said that in 2015 it was rumored that a former prime minister would be arrested. It was also rumored that someone from the governing PDM would also be targeted in order to prove that justice is not selective. Shortly after, he learned that a criminal investigation had been initiated against him, based on a complaint. And after a while, he read in the online press that he was arrested, although he wasn’t. Lilian Popescu said he then understood that he was being framed up for the sake of a political show.

The former chairman of Ialoveni district also says that from October 2015 to March 2016 he stayed abroad. Meanwhile, he faced charges and an arrest warrant was issued against him. On March 1, 2016, after the Filip Government was invested, he returned to Chisinau and announced the criminal investigation authority. Within a month, the circumstances behind his charges disappeared: the person who filed the complaint withdrew it.

More than a year ago, in April 2017, Lilian Popescu said that he was filed a bill of indictment in another case, based on a denunciation “made by a person who was and is a person with a bad reputation in Ialoveni district.” After long court hearings, Lilian Popescu says he managed to obtain the suspension of criminal proceedings at the end of 2017.

The former chairman of the Ialoveni district also says he was threatened in the context of the parliamentary elections. He was asked not to get involved, not to impede. “Wherever I was going to be hired, there were messages, that he was controversial, with problems,” Lilian Popescu said.

Following the suspension of the criminal proceedings in both cases, Lilian Popescu sued the Republic of Moldova for damages for the abuses committed by the criminal prosecution authorities. In the first case, the State must pay him MDL 100,000. The second case for damages is at the Court of Appeals. The required amount is MDL 50,000.