The Superior Council of Prosecutors last year received 270 petitions from citizens who asked that the institution should examine the work done by prosecutors. Even if the Council does not have powers to investigate, the institution’s president Angela Motuzoc said the existence of petitions generates serious concerns about prosecutors’ professionalism. Prosecutor General Alexandr Stoianoglo said that when he took up his duties, he found a prosecution service detached from the reality, where the human rights stopped being a value and where fear and the use of force were raised to the rank of normality, IPN reports.
Angela Motuzoc said that 51 disciplinary proceedings were examined in 2019 and punishments in the form of reprimand, warning, cut in salary and dismissal were imposed as a result. The Prosecutors’ Inspection was issued with 170 applications concerning prosecutors. The law on the prosecution service was amended last year. Also, the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors, following the concerns expressed by the Superior Council of Prosecutors, issued an opinion saying any unjustified interference in the work of prosecutors by other branches of the state power should be avoided, especially when selecting, appointing and promoting prosecutors.
Alexandr Stoianoglo noted that not becoming involved in the activity of business entities is one of the prosecution service’s priorities. They can interfere only when the competent bodies identify serious violations.
“I ban the shows with persons in balaclavas at the business entities, the arrests of businesspeople for economic and financial deviations, taking of other special investigation measures that do not derive from real situations. The assessment of this activity for the previous period revealed the absolute inefficiency of those measures that led to human rights violations, destruction of businesses, illegal investigation of hundreds of persons,” stated the prosecutor general.
“We came to a point when the European Parliament adopted a decision by which it pointed to the existence of political cases in the Republic of Moldova and requested our authorities to take measures to rehabilitate the persons.”
The meeting involved 508 prosecutors.
