The prosecutors submitted an application to extend the remand detention of former Prime Minister Vlad Filat for another 30 days. Prosecutor Adriana Betisor said the move follows the Constitutional Coot’s decision according to which the January decision to extend the remand detention for 90 days is unconstitutional. The prosecutor noted there is new evidence in the case.
Adriana Betisor has told IPN that the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office provided new details in the form of correspondence showing that the suspect could directly influence witnesses if he was set free. “There is new evidence that justify the decision to extend the pretrial detention period,” stated the prosecutor who is handling Vlad Filat’s case.
She also said that there were fixed a number of hearings given that the person is under arrest and the law provides that the cases of those under arrest should be dealt with the first.
For his part, the former Premier’s lawyer Igor Popa said that the application submitted by the prosecutor contained no new elements and abuses and acts of injustice continue to be witnessed in this case, with Vlad Filat being held arbitrarily. The defense repeatedly asked, including today, that the hearings should be public, but their request was rejected. A nontransparent and swift trial will be held, with the violation of the rights of Vlad Filat.
Igor Popa noted that in the meeting with the PACE rapporteurs, the former Premier’s lawyers stated their concerns about the inhuman and degrading treatment and of their client.
According to Popa, the next hearing in the case of Vlad Filat was set for March 2. The lawyer considers that the hurry in which the hearings are convened shows that attempts are made to hide details in the case of the ex-Premier.
