Parliament lifts immunity of deputy

The Parliament removed on Thursday, November 23 the legislative immunity of the deputy Vasile Colta, as response to the request of the General Prosecution Office in order to hold him responsible for a misdemeanor in one case and for an offence in another. In the first case, the Prosecution Office requests the annulment of the immunity in order to initiate a civil action against the MP involved in a road accident, occurred on August 20. According to the cited source, Colta, while driving his car, broke traffic regulations and injured 3 bicyclists on the roadway Leuseni -Chisinau. One of the bicyclists suffered several fractures. In the second case the annulment of the parliamentary immunity is solicited in order to lay an indictment against Colta for smuggling cigarettes. On September 19, Romanian customs officers at the Albita cross-border point discovered in his car more than 11,000 cigarette packages, priced at over MDL 120,000. As part of secret voting, 70 MPs pronounced for lifting the immunity, in order to call the MP to civil account, and 73 – for removing his immunity for calling him to penal account. Vasile Colta entered the Parliament on the lists of the “Moldova Democrata” Bloc. After committing these actions, he has been excluded from the “Moldova Noastra” Alliance, and also from the AMN faction in late September.