Prosecutor General's Office opened about 60 cases over April 7 events

The prosecutors do not rule out that the other young men who died during the April protests might be exhumed. In a news conference on March 18, Prosecutor General Valeriu Zubko said an exhumation decision can be taken by the appointed medical examination commission and the prosecution will start when sufficient evidence is collected in these cases. So far, the Prosecution General's Office has opened about 60 cases over the April mass disorder, Info-Prim Ne reports. More than 1,500 persons have been questioned during the investigations into the devastation of the Parliament's building and the Presidential Office. Among them were participants in the April protests, politicians, police officers and firefighters. The legal cases started against 11 persons accused of violent behavior and attacks on the police, including Romanian priest Johnatan Netanyahu, the leader of the legionary movement "Archangel Mihai" Sergiu Lascu and the famous protester Anatol Matasaru, were sent to court. Most of them were given suspended sentences. Another 41 legal cases were opened over thefts committed during the protests. Valeriu Zubko said the police officers who maltreated persons who protested in the Great National Assembly Square and then in the front of the Parliament and the Presidential Office have been also investigated. Cases against 22 policemen were remitted to court. Nine more police officers are under investigation, three of whom for ill-treating sisters Oxana and Ludmila Radu. Four cases were opened against officials of police stations. Former Minister of the Interior Gheorghe Papuc and former Commissioner of Chisinau Vladimir Botnari were accused of misconduct in office that resulted in the death of Valeriu Boboc and other serious consequences. The case will be sent to court after the accused familiarize themselves with the materials of the legal case. Vladimir Botnari saw the case, while Gheorghe Papuc announced he will present himself at the Prosecutor's Office on March 19. Zubko also said that three prosecutors working in Buiucani district received disciplinary punishment for examining cases at police stations after April 7. “I do not agree with the punishments. I consider these prosecutors should be dismissed,” the Prosecutor General said. The protest against the election results that started on April 6, 2009 degenerated into a riot. The protesters broke into the Parliament and the Presidential Office, destroyed furniture and equipment and set a number of offices on fire. Both police officers and protesters were injured in the altercations. The 23-year-old Valeriu Boboc died. An inquiry is to establish whether the deaths of Maxim Caniscev, Eugen Tap and Ion Tibuleac are related to the then protests.