Gheorghe Papuc says he will prove his innocence

The legal case opened against former Minister of the Interior Gheorghe Papuc and former police commissioner of Chisinau Vladimir Botnari will be sent to court within ten days, Papuc's layer Mihail Murzac said. Papuc and Botnari are accused of misconduct in office in April 2009 that resulted in the death of Valeriu Boboc and other serious consequences. Both of them plead not guilty and say they will prove their innocence in court, Info-Prim Neo reports. On March 19, Gheorghe Papuc presented himself at the Prosecutor's Office to examine the materials of the case. The former minister said the prosecutors have not yet established what official of the local public administration was to ask the police to engage in maintaining public order. "The person who involved minors in the protests has not been identified. The persons who brought stones and cudgels and those who incited the crowd to violence and threw stones at the police have not been punished. There are many other things that have yet to be determined,” Papuc said. The former minister of the interior said the parents of the young men who took part in the protests should be thankful that the police officers had prevented bloodshed. “The police fulfilled the President's order that no child must be injured and the use of violence must be avoided. It should be determined who maltreated the protesters and if their blame is proven they should be held accountable. I do not defend those who maltreated,” Gheorghe Papuc said. Lawyer Mihail Murzac said there are no proofs showing that Papuc is guilty. "The person responsible for Boboc's death should be punished, regardless who he is, police officer of civilian,” the mayor said. The investigation over the case started assistant Gheorghe Papuc and Vladimir Botnari has been finalized recently. Vladimir Botnari familiarized himself with the materials of the case on March 15. The two are banned from leaving the country. If the court finds them guilty, they will be fined 300 to 800 conventional units (a c.u. is equal to 20 lei) or three to seven years' imprisonment.