Lawyer Anatolie Istrate, who defends the interests of the transport companies “Ednateric Trans” and “Transeric Tur”, calls on the law enforcement agencies and the governmental authorities to return to the complaints concerning the wrongdoings committed against the two carriers, not to shift responsibility from one body to another and not to provide formal answers. “It’s time to return to these complaints and to remedy the situation,” Anatolie Istrate stated in a news conference at IPN.
According to the lawyer, the law enforcement agencies, the authorities and the prosecutor general were informed about the illegal actions in relation to the carriers, while other illegalities were described in the complaints submitted to Parliament, the legal commission for appointments and immunities, the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office, the prosecutor general, the administration of the Ministry of the Interior in the course of 2019 and at the beginning of 2020. The given institutions were informed about the criminal cases started and wrongdoings committed by the prosecution bodies against the two companies and the founding families of these.
“I ask you not to shift responsibility with formal answers, referring these applications from one body to another. It’s time to return to these complaints and to remedy the situation. Do so that we, the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, feel free. The prosecution bodies should be independent, as should be the prosecutor, as the Code of Penal Procedure provides. The businesses in the Republic of Moldova should prosper, but should have guarantees that their activity will not be persecuted and their affairs will not be taken over,” stated the lawyer.
Another lawyer for “Ednateric Trans” and “Transeric Tur” Alexandru Bot said the goal is to block the operations of the two companies and to intimidate their employees. According to him, about 16 searches were carried out at the two companies on August 12, with deviations from procedures. Two buses that belong to a partner company from the Czech Republic were stopped. Searches were carried out at the office of the companies and at the homes of employees.
Lawyer Angela Istrate said the founders of the two companies do not accept to take part in acts of corruption and, as a result, started to be intimidated. If there are suspicions, but there are no reasonable suspicions, the transport companies should have their operations seized. But who will pay the damage caused by those searches, especially because damage was also done to passengers, who banked on safe transport during the pandemic.
“We hope our messages will be heard by the representatives of the European Union who finance the justice sector reform in Moldova,” stated Angela Istrate. The lawyers assure they will go to the ECHR if the wrongdoings are not stopped.
