The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) is accused of illegal arrest and presentation of false data in the case of three persons accused of embezzlement of European funds. According lawyer Violeta Gasitoi, the representatives of the PGO violated the human rights in this case and they will thus file a complaint to the ECHR, IPN reports.
Violeta Gasitoi, who is the lawyer for one of the three arrested persons, told a news conference that her client didn’t even have access to the European funds as she was a tertiary person who wrote projects. “She was a victim in this case, not an offender. Somebody used her name and signature,” she stated.
The lawyer presumed that the data about this case were made public with the aim of showing to the international organizations that the PGO and the law enforcement bodies make effort to fight corruption and to do the justice reform. “Moldova obtained about €60 million from the EU for reforming the judicial system. Thus, by this case the law enforcement bodies want to show the backers how this process goes,” said Violeta Gasitoi.
Lawyer Roman Zadoinov said that in the absence of a court decision, the PGO does not have the right to use the term of offense. “Anyone in Moldova who was somehow connected with a person suspected of certain illegalities can be arrested and obliged to make false statement,” he stated.
The PGO denied the accusations of the lawyers, saying they don’t know all the details. Prosecutor Ion Nigurita, who deals with this case, said the PGO does not aim to show something to the European organizations. “We do our job according to the law,” Ion Negurita stated for IPN.
On September 23, the Prosecutor General’s Office issued a communiqué saying that three persons representing NGOs were arrested when they were sharing out a tranche of €16,000 obtained illegally.
