The functionaries responsible for the conviction of the Republic of Moldova by the European Court of Human Rights should pay and should fully cover the costs incurred by the state, said lawyer Andrei Briceac, who told about the recent ECHR judgment in the case of Salinschi versus the Republic of Moldova in which the violation of the right to freedom that is guaranteed by Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights was ascertained.

In a news conference hosted by IPN, the lawyer said the ECHR held that his client Victor Salinschi was held for a period of about 100 days without reason, in an abusive way. “There had been decisions by the European Court by which similar violations were ascertained earlier. Why is namely the case of Salinschi important? The case of Salinschi is important because the Court in Strasbourg in this case gave a negative grade and pronounced in very harsh terms on the work of the national courts, in particular on the work of the prosecutor in charge of the case and the judge of inquiry who acted in the case of Mister Salinschi and who ordered the unfounded arrest,” explained the lawyer.

He made a public call to the responsible authorities, asking the Ministry of Justice and the Prosecutor General’s Office to hold accountable the judges, prosecutors and all the public servants who are to blame for the ECHR convictions. “We want to inform public opinion about this case and to note that any injustice is remedied sooner or later, if not in national courts then at the European Court of Human Rights,” stated Andrei Briceac.

According to him, the case is based on circumstances that occurred in 2013. The searches, arrest and the started criminal case were unjustified. “We consider this case is a proof of a serious problem experienced by the justice system in that period, in the mentioned years. But we think this problem still persists. We refer particularly to the formalities in the examination of criminal cases. The prosecutors, based on different reasons, either due to the political or economic interests of a private individual or simply because they want to exhibit the powers entrusted to them by law, start criminal cases and ask for arrest,” stated the lawyer.

Andrei Briceac said that his client, who is a doctor by profession, has never been in conflict with the law. “The Court in its decision held that the national courts, the judge of inquiry ignored important aspects of the case,” he stated.

Victor Salinschi said that the judges to blame for the ECHR convictions should answer, but a mechanism should be also introduced to oblige these judges pay the damages awarded by the European Court in a twice larger amount. “If the principles of meritocracy are not promoted in the future, if these judges are not assessed by commissions and public opinion is not sensitized, we will not obtain results. We will see the people leaving the country and only thieves and pensioners will remain here,” stated Victor Salinschi.

The conference forms part of the series of conferences held as part of IPN News Agency’s project “Support for the Justice Reform through multimedia coverage of cases of alleged injustice”. The Agency does not bear responsibility for the public statements made in the public sphere by the organizers of news conferences. IPN News Agency gives the right of reply to persons who consider they were touched by the news items produced based on statements of the organizers of the given news conference, including by facilitating the organization of another news conference in similar conditions.