Court confirmed illegality of Antena C manager's dismissal

Director of the “Antena C” Municipal Enterprise Vasile State has been restored to his office on Friday, March 23. The Court of Appeals recognised that the decision of the Chisinau Municipal Council, by which State was dismissed, had been illegal. The Court of Appeals decided that State’s claim has legal grounds and ordered that the Municipal Council annulled the dismissal decision. State is also to be paid the average wage for the period of his absence as well as court expenses. Vasile State told Info-Prim Neo that, according to the Court’s decision, starting Monday, March 26 he is to retake his duties, but there’s a delicate situation – he cannot retake his office in the Municipal Enterprise “Antena C”, because it doesn’t exist anymore, and the radio station has a new owner. The new owner can cancel the contract with State on legal grounds, in compliance with the provisions of the Labour Code, according to which if an entity changes the owner, the manager can be dismissed. State said that his dismissal is illegal, taken “to complete the destruction of Antena C.” When asked to comment on the judgement of the Court, the chairman of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Moldova (HCHR), Stefan Uratu told the Agency that it is a curious thing that the decision was pronounced by Judge Mihai Ciugureanu (who also handled the “Antena C” case). It is an almost comical situation, because almost all cases with a political feature are heard by this judge. In most of the cases it looks like the decisions are not legally motivated, but politically. Uratu thinks that the Court judgement is fair and asserts that State was illegally fired. Vasile State, together with the director of the “Euro TV Chisinau” channel Arcadie Gherasim, were fired during the same session of the Municipal Council at which it was decided to auction off the 2 institutions. The 2 directors were fired by the votes of the communist and Christian-democrat councillors at the suggestion of the ex-leader of the PPCD faction in the Council, Alexandru Corduneanu. The decision regarding the sale of the institutions is also sued by the employees of the two stations. On Monday, March 12, Chisinau Court of Appeals rejected their request, while Judge Mihai Ciugureanu found the plaintiffs’ claims groundless.