A number of nongovernmental organizations made a public call by which they ask that the hearings in the case of former Prime Minister Vlad Filat should be made public. The signatories say the examination of this case in a public manner is very important for increasing the people’s confidence in the legal system. According to them, the public character of these hearings will clarify the situation about the theft of the US$1 billion and will guarantee the accused’s right to a fair trial, IPN reports.

The signatories said the public character of the hearings is an essential guarantee for the defendant’s right to a fair trial. This will protect the parties from secret trying, without control on the part of the public. The right to public hearings is also an instrument for ensuring the people’s confidence in justice and is an important means for maintaining confidence in the courts of law.

The NGOs said parts of the case of Vlad Filat, who is accused of acts of corruption and bank frauds, were sent to court at the end of last December. The case includes information about one of the largest frauds in Moldova’s history, but the hearings in this case are held behind closed doors.

The defense declared publicly that there are no reasons for trying the case behind closed doors. The information that was made public does not explain why the prosecution insists on this. Furthermore, Vlad Filat himself wants his case to be judged publicly.

The NGOs consider the public examination of this case is crucial given the completion of the investigation, the resonance of the case, the seriousness of the accusations and the speculations about the orchestration of the trial. They thus call on the judges who deal with this case to reassess their arguments for holding the hearings behind closed doors and to possibly review the taken decision. If the arguments for examining the case behind closed doors are convincing, the judges should explain them in public and should analyze the possibility of examining publicly at least one of the parties involved in this case.

The public call was signed by the Association for Participatory Democracy, Amnesty International Moldova, the Small Business Association, the Association of Independent Press, the Women’s Association for the Environment Protection and Sustainable Development, the Association of Professional and Business Women, BIOS, Business Consulting Institute, the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul”, the Institute for Public Policy, the Center Aarhus EcoContact, the Center  for Legal Assistance for People with Disabilities, the National Roma Center, the Center for the Analysis and Prevention of Corruption, the Independent Journalism Center, the Center for Health Policy and Research, the Resource Center DIALOG-Pro, the Legal Resources Center of Moldova, the Women’s Political Club 50/50, the InReCo Conflict Resolution Institute, Eco-TIRAS, East Europe Foundation, HABITAT, Promo-LEX, REC Moldova, Terra 1530, the Ecologist Movement of Moldova, Transparency International Moldova, the Union of Invalids’ Organizations of Moldova, and Soros Foundation Moldova