The authorities decided to arrest Renato Usatyi in a move to stop the leaking of information, stated invitees to the talk show “Fabrika” on Publika TV channel, quoted by IPN.
Lawyer Roman Mihaes considers the prosecutors want to determine how the telephone conversations between Ilan Shor and Vlad Filat were tapped. “At this stage, the experts want to find out the source of these recordings. It is not for the first time in Moldova that the phone conversations are tapped illegally. Otherwise, I cannot explain why the mayor of Balti was arrested for an offense that is punished with a fine and community service,” he stated.
Politologist Alexandru Solcan also believes that by Usatyi’s arrest the authorities are trying to prevent the leaking of information. “I don’t think that Renato Usatyi’s arrest is a big event. The authorities probably want to identify the channel through which information is leaked,” he said.
The leader of “Our Party” Renato Usatyi was arrested at the Chisinau airport, upon his return from Russia, in the evening of October 23. He was escorted to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) and then placed under arrest for 72 hours. Earlier, the PGO announced that a criminal case was started over violation of the right to correspondence after Renato Usatyi made public wiretaps of phone conversations between Vlad Filat and Ilan Shor, saying he also has wiretaps involving Iurie Leanca, Valeriu Strelet, Vlad Plahotniuc and other politicians.
