The Prosecutor General’s Office has decided not to start a criminal case in response to a formal complaint filed by Andrei Năstase, Deputy Prime Minister and concurrently Minister of the Interior, who requested that the formed Democratic Party president Vlad Plahotniuc be charged with “usurpation.”

The decision not to pursue the case has been taken following “an examination of factual circumstances and evidence”, the PGO said in a press release. It also said the refusal “is based on legal considerations”.

In response, Minister Năstase said in a Facebook post that today’s decision “dispels any doubts that Moldova was and still is a prosecutor’s republic.”

“The refusal to act on my complaint is yet another proof that usurpation of power is an operation orchestrated and coordinated by exactly those who, by virtue of their constitutional duties, are supposed to contribute to the liberation and democratization of Moldova,” wrote Năstase.

In his complaint, Andrei Năstase requested that Vlad Plahotniuc be prosecuted and stripped of parliamentary immunity on charges of “usurpation,” which Article 2 of the Moldovan Constitution describes as “the most serious of all crimes against the people.”