Lawyer seeks impeachment of President Vladimir Voronin

The lawyer Veaceslav Turcan asked the Supreme Court of Justice to issue an interlocutory decree ordering that the Parliament initiate the impeachment of President Vladimir Voronin for the reason that he exerts pressure on the judicial authorities. The Court, which is a superior judiciary body, refused to issue an interlocutory decree. At a news conference on December 27, the lawyer said that during the hearing of a case in which he represented the defence, the judge, in the presence of people attending the trial, said several times that the president of Moldova is monitoring the given case and he is permanently called to report on the development of the case. The lawyer says that he is not afraid of being persecuted or pressurised and that President Vladimir Voronin should be afraid in this case because he violated the law. Turcan stated that he does not have political aims. He wants only that the supremacy of law is respected and the persons that violate the law are held accountable. Veaceslav Turcan thinks that the Opposition parties as well as the ruling party must examine this case, withdraw the parliamentary immunity and start the impeachment procedure. The lawyer stated that the prosecution bodies numerous times violated the legislation while investigating his client, who was a police officer and is accused of murder to order. Turcanu says that there are proofs confirming that the accused was brought into the country from Ukraine with violations of the extradition procedure and that he was subjected to torture at the police commissariat. The legal case was examined three times by the Court of Appeals Chisinau and three times by the Supreme Court of Justice. On March 1, 2007 the defendant was acquitted and set free after serving four years in jail. According to Turcanu, the Supreme Court of Justice issued an interlocutory decree against the Prosecutor’s Office following multiple violations of the legislation in this case. Later, the Prosecutor’s Office appealed against the court’s decision. On December 24, the Supreme Court of Justice accepted the appeal and quashed the acquittal decision and the interlocutory decree issued against the Prosecutor’s Office. The case will be reexamined. Now, the defendant is on the outside. The lawyer appealed to the European Court of Human Rights over the violations of his client’s rights – use of torture, the rights to freedom and security, private life, an effective remedy. The National Liberal Party also demanded that Vladimir Voronin be impeached, invoking “the anti-Romania outbursts of the Communist Voronin”.