Jurist Stanislav Pavlovski, former judge at the ECHR and former minister of justice, said the judgment passed by the ordinary court of law in the case of ex-Premier Vlad Filat is the only equitable solution given the lack of transparency in the trial as a result of which the politician was convicted and he would like to see an acquittal sentence in this case.
“The case of Filat is rather specific. It is unordinary owing to the personality of Filat and to the offenses of which he was accused. It is explainable why this case attracts the attention of society, including of the political class. We should accept a postulate: that the examination of such cases in our country is within the remit of courts of law, either we like it or not,” Pavlovski was quoted by IPN as saying in the talk show “Black box” on TV8 channel.
The jurist noted politicians’ statements about this case could be interpreted as pressure exerted on the court, which can be put in the situation to examine the appeal. “When there is no concrete evidence, it’s not right to make such allusions that scandalize society. The functionaries should have taken measures to probe the suspicions and should have then made statements. Following such a path, they somehow exert pressure on the court of law. This ruling can be appealed and the judges could interpret the statements as a form of indirect pressure on courts. I think this is inadmissible,” said Stanislav Pavlovski.
On the other hand, this case generated controversy in society and the politicians could not remain silent as they could have been accused of a tacit agreement, stated the jurist.
According to him, if the decision to release the ex-Premier on parole is not quashed by the higher court, there is a 99.9% probability that Vlad Filat will become involved in politics. “If they start to calmly analyze the political situation created together with the release of Mister Filat, they will see that he causes problems, first of all on the right. It’s hard to say for whom the appearance of such a political person on the right will be convenient,” said Pavlovski, noting Vlad Filat could now present himself as a victim because of his conviction and this will be his next political step.
The jurist considers the leaders on the right behave passively and the power of President Dodon grows daily. “An imbalance appeared in the political life. When Mister Filat was put on the other side of the scale, the imbalance started to be redressed.”
Vlad Filat was released on parole on December 3 based on a ruling of the Ciocana branch of the Chisinau City Court. He was arrested in October 2015 and was sentenced to nine years in jail for influence peddling and passive corruption in June 2016. He was held at Penitentiary No. 13 in Chisinau. The ex-Premier pleads not guilty.
