Searches were conducted at the head office of the Party of Socialists (PSRM) in Chisinau on Friday in the criminal case concerning the presupposed illegal financing of the party. The Socialists said this is a new attack coordinated by “the PAS regime”, IPN reports.

MP Grigore Novac told a news conference that the parliamentary group of the Bloc of Communists and Socialists was to attend the special Parliament sitting that involved the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, but this wasn’t possible owing to the searches. They consider the actions were taken after the BCS group announced its intention to propose a no-confidence motion against the minister of justice.

“It is worrisome when such an action of revenge against the opponents is taken during the visit paid by the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola to our country. While the high-ranking European official was speaking in the Presidential Palace about the democratic values and human freedoms, the regime protected by Brussels calls for violent actions to threaten and press the opposition. We also consider that the show with prosecutors at the PSRM’s head office was staged rather to alleviate the impact of the revelations about Minister of Justice Sergiu Litvinenco’s involvement in wrongdoings and abuse of power,” said the PSRM.

The Socialists consider the government commits a direct attack on the rule of law and democracy. “We firmly condemn any form of persecution of the opposition as all the criminal cases are motivated exclusively politically. We call on the Delegation of the European Union in Chisinau and on all the embassies working in our country not to become accomplices to the dictatorship established by the PAS,” runs a press release.

At the start of June, prosecutors also carried out searches in the case of illegal financing of the PSRM. This case features also ex-President Igor Dodon and ex-Premier Zinaida Grechanyi.