The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has issued a statement saying it disapproves of the way the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) interpreted criminal procedure provisions in its latest ruling. According to the PGO, the transfer request should have been rejected for being repetitive.
This comes in response to SCJ ruling on Friday to transfer Ilan Shor’s case from the Cahul Court of Appeals to the Chisinau Court of Appeals, as requested by the fugitive politician’s lawyers.
“It must be noted that each separate argument put forward by the defense (in the latest transfer petition) had been examined in nine previous requests for transfer, and the SCJ had judged them appropriately, rejecting them all”, reads the PGO statement.
The PGO also notes that, for the first time ever, the Supreme Court has cited “a collective suspicion of impartiality in relation to the alleged facts” as a reason for returning a case back to the original court.
“With the appeal practically reaching its final phase (at the Cahul Court), with the evidence from both the prosecution and the defense presented, witnesses heard and materials examined, the Chisinau Court of Appeals will now have to resume the examination of the case from the very beginning”, remarks the PGO.
The transfer decision is irreversible. Under the same ruling, the Supreme Court also upheld the decision to have Ilan Shor declared wanted and arrested as a result of him fleeing from justice.
