The Buiucani office of the Court of Chisinau municipality on October 11 extended the warrant for the home arrest of mayor of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca, who was suspended from the post, for another 30 days. The court also rejected the lawyers’ request to suspend the examination of the case until after the November 19 referendum on Chirtoaca’s dismissal so that he could prepare for the plebiscite, IPN reports.
After the hearing, the mayor’s lawyer Tatiana Iovu told the press that the decision to keep under arrest Dorin Chirtoaca, who is an electoral subject and benefits from all the rights stipulated in the Election Code, is illegal. The decision will be challenged in the ECHR as rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights are being violated.
Dorinc Chirtoaca said the hearing with the new judge, who took over the case after the previous judge was promoted to a higher post, started inappropriately. He considers that today’s decision is absurd. As to the referendum, the suspended mayor said the people realize that this is a whim of Igor Dodon and the Socialists, which will cost society millions of lei.
Prosecutor Dumitru Robu said the risks invoked in the previous requests to keep the remand detention remain topical. These include the influencing of witnesses to make them change the depositions.
Dorin Chirtoaca was arrested on May 25 in a case concerning parking spaces to be operated as part of what seemed to be an illegal scheme. Two days later he was placed under house arrest. The mayor has been charged with accepting bribes and influencing decisions for undue gains. A month ago, the mayor was accused of abuse of power and causing of damage of over 66 million lei to the municipal budget in another case. Dorin Chirtoaca pleads not guilty on both counts.
