The Chisinau Court of Appeals today commuted ex-MP Violeta Ivanov’s preventive arrest to house arrest for a period of 20 days. The appeals filed by the four other former lawmakers are pending.

In the courtroom, Artur Reșetnicov told reporters he ended his huger strike after being allowed to confer with his lawyers earlier today. He claimed that he was being “pressured” to confess. Reșetnicov also reiterated his claims that the case is politically motivated and that he personally is targeted for his decisions as a Constitutional Court judge in 2018-2019.

Violeta Ivanov, Vladimir Vitiuc, Artur Reșetnicov, Sergiu Sîrbu and Anatolie Zagorodnîi were arrested on February 2 on illicit enrichment charges. In 2015, alongside nine other Communist MPs, the five defected their group to subsequently join Vladimir Plahotniuc’s Democratic Party and consolidate its control over Parliament. It has long been rumored that the members of the splinter group took large bribes for the transition.