The National Security Committee will hold hearings on Monday to discuss the recent assassination of a Turkish citizen at a terrace in Chisinau’s Râșcani sector. Members of the Superior Council of Magistracy, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of the Interior and the Intelligence and Security Service are expected to attend. Prime Minister Dorin Recean also convened a meeting at the Government today as a result of the case.

The murdered man, 41, was an internationally wanted fugitive from justice. In May 2022, he was detained in Moldova and placed in custody to be extradited to the UK authorities who were looking for him to serve a 21.5-year sentence.

The Moldovan authorities received a total of four extradition requests from the UK, which are currently still under consideration by the court. A few days after his detention, the man submitted an asylum application. In October 2022, the General Inspectorate for Migration rejected his application. However, the decision was appealed. The decision on the merits upholding the rejection was only issued two years later, on July 3, 2024.

“We found that certain foreign citizens, asylum seekers, who are on international wanted lists, use a corruption scheme and take advantage of loopholes in our system to remain free in Moldova. The request for asylum by a foreign citizen prevents them from being detained or banned from entering the country, and protracting the examination for years allows these people to be free”, said the prime minister.

According to Dorin Recean, today in Moldova there are 38 foreign citizens wanted for bank fraud, tax evasion and even violent crimes. Following the meeting, it was agreed on the urgent amendment of the normative framework regarding asylum in the Republic of Moldova. “We asked the MoI to undertake measures to verify the situation of asylum seekers, including those whose asylum applications were rejected and are in court proceedings. State institutions will ensure that foreign citizens who enter the territory of the Republic of Moldova are not a social danger, and our citizens are safe”, the prime minister declared.

The police started an investigation for murder committed with particular cruelty. The person who shot the Turkish citizen was wearing a balaclava and was riding an electric scooter. The assassin shot four shots in the back and three shots in the head of the man on the terrace. No suspects have been detained yet.