Court of Appeals rejects the claim to pronounce the reorganisation of Antena C and Euro TV as illegal

On Monday, March 1, the Chisinau Court of Appeals rejected the request to start legal proceedings against the Chisinau Municipal Council and former interim mayor of the capital Vasile Ursu, filed by the employees of Antena C and Euro TV, who claimed that the reorganisation of the two stations by auctioning them off had been illegal. The claimants are determined to sue the decision in a higher court. Judge Mihai Ciugureanu, who heard the case, pronounced the plaintiffs’ requests and allegations as groundless. The judgement will be publicised on March 19. Ecaterina Stratan, one of the claimants, ex-director of Antena C radio station told Info-Prim Neo that decision of the court is unfair. According to the cited source, the court has delayed the lawsuit on purpose, and the judge refused to take into account all the claimants’ arguments, seeming to miss the essence of the case. Stratan asserts that the claimants will sue the decision in the higher court. At the same time, she says there is no independent justice in Moldova, while “Judge Ciugureanu obeyed a political order to be in the party’s good graces.” Over 30 employees working at the two stations requested to urgently suspend the procedure of selling the two institutions and annul the precursory normative documents; to cancel interim mayor’s orders regarding the appointment of new managers of the TV channel and radio station; to oblige CMC and interim mayor to re-establish the proper functioning conditions of the institutions; to oblige CMC and interim mayor to pay damages amounting to MLD 100 thousand for each claimant.