Ex-Premier Vlad Filat, who was sentenced to nine years in jail in 2015 and was recently released, announced that he and his team of lawyers will initiate new actions to restore the truth in this case. Vlad Filat informed about this through a social networking site, IPN reports.
The ex-Premier said the ECHR on May 15, 2020 informed the Government of the Republic of Moldova about two applications filed by him to the High Court, concerning the violation of the basic rights during the trial as a result of which he was convicted.
“In the second application to the Court, I invoked serious deviations committed in the trial and in my conviction. These deviations violated my right to benefit from a fair trial, which is guaranteed by the Convention. More exactly, throughout the whole process I asked to publicly judge the case so as to benefit from the guarantees of a fair trial and society could see that the made accusations are unfounded,” wrote Vlad Filat.
“On March 18, 2020, the High Court asked the Government to provide explanations about the violation of the presumption of innocence by high-ranking officials who, by their statements, influenced the whole process and the legality of detention until the coming into force of the sentence. Since my arrest, I had pleaded not guilty and constantly asked that the trial should be public, by observing the basic human rights and freedoms and ensuring the guarantees of a fair trial: presumption of innocence, equality of arms and possibility of effective defense.”
Given the commutations of the ECHR, the filed review applications and the new circumstances that weren’t known by courts of law when examining the case, the former Premier and his lawyers intend to take steps to restore the truth in this case.
