Only one case is pending in court 12 years after the events of April 7, 2009. This was started against the former chief of the municipal police over abuse of power. The next hearing in this case was set for April 13. Another case against two persons was sent back for retrial last yearend. There is no case in the appeals court, IPN reports, quoting the Prosecutor General’s Office.
After the events of April 2009, the persons who said that they suffered as a result of the actions of the police filed 77 complaints. In another 31 cases, the prosecutors instituted 108 criminal procedures.
In 71 of the cases, there were started criminal cases, 42 of which over use of torture, 19 over abuse of power, while ten over other types of offenses.
Twenty-eight cases against 47 police officers were investigated and sent to court. In the other cases, the investigation was stopped due to the absence of the elements of an offense or was suspended because the identity of the persons who acted illegally could not be determined as they wore balaclavas.
After the cases were examined by courts, 26 decisions concerning 45 persons became final. Sixteen persons were acquitted based on nine acquittal sentences. There were two sentences to drop the cases – one in connection with the death of the culprit, while another one following the imposition of a fine.
There were also passed 15 sentences to convict 27 persons. Based on nine sentences, 20 persons were put on probation. Three conviction decisions ordered suspended sentences to four persons, while another three sentences imposed fines.
A large-scale protest involving primarily young people was mounted on April 7, 2009 against the results of the April 5 parliamentary elections where a majority of seats was again won by the Communists. A number of civilians and police officers suffered injuries when the protest degenerated into a riot. Officially, only one person died in those events after being beaten in central Chisinau - Valeriu Boboc.
