The Ministry of Justice vehemently denies having exerted pressure on the organizations that form part of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections – Coalition 2009, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting a communiqué from the Ministry. The Ministry familiarized itself with the open letter sent by the seven member organizations in which Coalition 2009 denies that it had been a co-organizer of the April 7 protests and expresses its bewilderment and indignation at this accusation made by the Ministry of Justice. In a letter sent by the Parties and Nongovernmental Organizations Division, the Ministry demands that the associations inform, within 10 days, about the steps taken to prevent and stop the violence during the protests, as co-organizers. The Ministry of Justice says that by addressing such a letter to the NGOs, it used the rights offered to it by the Law on Public Associations and aimed only to completely and objectively clarify all the circumstances of the April 7 protests that ended with the devastation of the buildings of the Presidential Office and the Parliament. “It is regrettable that the Ministry’s attempt to clarify the position of the nongovernmental organizations degenerated into extremely serious accusations that are unfounded and misinform the public opinion,” the communiqué says. The Ministry also says that its act was based on the existence of a preliminary statement informing the Chisinau City Hall about the organization of a meeting by the Civic Coalitions – Elections 2009 on April 7 and of a similar statement from a political party. At the same time, Coalition 2009 says it did not inform the City Hall about a public meeting or protest neither before, nor on or after April 7.