The electoral bloc NOW is calling supporters to join a rally tomorrow to protest the prison sentences “on trumped-up charges” received today separately by two activists of the bloc’s constituent party Dignity and Truth.

NOW said in a statement that today’s sentences represent “a very clear message conveyed by the Plahotniuc-Dodon regime to the entire Moldovan society – this democracy nonsense, it’s over. This is what will happen to anyone who dares to oppose the oligarchic order. The use of teargas against supporters of the political detainee Gheorghe Petic outside the Orhei Court, in the ugliest traditions of a dictatorship, is the most telling testimony”.

The bloc says NOW members and “all the free citizens of Moldova” stand by Gheorghe Petic and Sergiu Cebotari.

“These absurd sentences motivate us even more to continue the fight and promote the package of bills to rid our country of oligarchy and set its institutions free from captivity”, reads the statement.

Both Gheorghe Petic and Sergiu Cebotari were sentenced today in separate cases, involving rape and forced labor charges respectively. Prior to becoming members of the opposition Dignity and Truth Party, the former border police colonel and the ex-deputy director of Moldova Mail exposed alleged trafficking schemes within their respective fields of work.

The rally is announced to start tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. outside the Parliament building.