Parliamentary commission to discuss Voronin's immunity Monday
The legal commission for appointments and immunities of the Parliament on September 27 will examine the request of the Prosecutor General's Office (PG) to lift the parliamentary immunity of the former President of Moldova Vladimir Voronin, Info-Prim Neo reports.
Both Vladimir Voronin and the prosecutor who is examining the case were summoned to attend the commission's meeting. If one of them will miss the meeting without leave, the commission will discuss the issue in their absence.
The commission's chairman Ion Plesca said Vladimir Voronin also enjoys immunity as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, but this immunity has legal power only when the Communist leader attends the PACE's sessions and the meetings of the Assembly's commissions.
As former head of state, Vladimir Voronin does not benefit from immunity. He enjoys only free medical assistance, transport, guard and diplomatic immunity, Plesca said.
According to the PG, the prosecutors on September 18 started to investigate Vladimir Voronin over the death of a person during the April 2009 events and over the devastation of the Parliament Building and the Presidential Office. Acting President Mihai Ghimpu informed the MPs about the PG's request in the September 23 sitting of the legislative body.