Witnesses in ‘ambulances case’ refuse to testify in court citing health reasons

On October 29, Director of Rumeon Company Oleg Rudenco, who had signed the sale contract for the 40 Volkswgen ambulances, was escorted by a policeman to the Centru District Court in order to bear witness in the so-called “ambulances case”, after he didn’t show up at several court sittings. For half an hour Oleg Rudeco explained the court that he didn’t know about the fact that he is summoned as witness. Earlier he submitted a letter, asking to exempt him from testifying because of the health problems. Rudenco said he is indignant about the fact that he was brought to court by force and refused to testify, claiming that he had suffered a brain stroke. Taking into consideration the fact that Rudenco presented proper answers when questioned, the court decided that he can participate as witness in the case. However, Rumeon Director stated that he will testify only in the presence of his lawyer. The sitting was postponed until November 5, at 10:00. Solicited by Info-Prim Neo to comment upon the conduct of the key-witness, Vasile Rahlea, lawyer for ex-mayor Urecheanu, asserted that Rudenco is part of a penal case on the same issue, so that he had the right to refuse to bear witness in the Urecheanu case based on the provisions of article no. 90 (2) of the Code of Penal Procedure stipulating that no one can be forced to bear witness against his own interests. Rahlea added that Rudenco is the only representative of Rumeon Ltd who is familiar with all circumstances of the sale transaction of those 40 vehicles. By losing this witness, the defendant will be taken the possibility to explain the circumstances in which the contract was signed. Vasile Rahlea admits the possibility that Rudenco is influenced by someone or hopes that the government will appreciate his conduct in this case. Neither the director of the Urgency Service, Gheorghe Ciobanu nor the representative for the City Hall didn’t show up for the trial. The former claimed to be sick while the latter was fined 500 lei. On October 8, Serafim Urecheanu affirmed that the key witnesses in the ‘ambulances case’ are intimidated by the government and are afraid to testify in court. He told media representatives he has evidence showing that the witnesses are intimidated and threatened with serious problems if they talk too much. As the court rules compel them to speak the truth, they choose to find excuses for not being there. The ‘ambulances case’ originated in 2002 when the municipality bought 40 vans and converted them into ambulances for 4 million lei. Since then, the case has seen a couple of stages. One of them was ended by the Extended Panel of the Supreme Court, which obliged the public prosecutor to stop prosecuting Urecheanu. However, prosecutor Bernaz contested the judgment, while the Centru Court ordered continuing criminal proceedings against Urecheanu, marking the first case in the history of the Moldovan jurisprudence when a district court defies the decision of the supreme court of law.