The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) pointed to serious violations in the case of ex-political prisoner Valentin Eșanu against the Republic of Moldova. According to lawyers, their client’s rights not to be subject to arbitrary arrest and detention, to be set free during the procedure and to challenge the remand detention were violated. What is more serious is the fact that the prosecutors intentionally divided the criminal cases into different procedures so as to avoid the constitutional provisions that prohibit holding the person under arrest for more than 12 months.
“The problem of arrest in the Republic of Moldova, even if they speak less about it in society at the moment, remained as serious. Those persons, who were involved in excessive arrests when Mister Eșanu was arrested and had been held for over 20 months, continue working unrestrictedly. As unrestrictedly, they continue to apply remand detention, as earlier,” lawyer Petru Balan told a news conference at IPN.
Another lawyer, Sorin Tighineanu, said the prosecutors who committed violations against Valentin Eșanu continue working. The judges who examined their appeals against pretrial detention continue holding their posts. Valentin Eșanu was arrested in 2017 and released in 2019. Since then things haven’t changed. “To my mind, things cannot be changed with the same persons who committed such serious violations as regards the freedoms of a person. And not only we suffered in that period,” stated the lawyer.
Valentin Eșanu said that in its judgment, the ECHR ascertained that his right to a fair trial was violated. He presented a list of persons who, according to him, are to blame for all the committed violations. The list includes prosecutors, judges and other persons. The former president of the Supreme Court of Justice was also involved. A note concerning the criminal case fabricated against him, with the instruction how many years in jail he was to be given, was found in the safe of this.
Valentin Eșanu addressed a message of gratitude to the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova. According to him, if the team of the EU Delegation hadn’t intervened, his wife who was constantly subject to intimidation, would have been arrested too. Valentin Eșanu also thanked the representatives of the EU embassies in Chisinau, who didn’t remain indifferent and took part in hearings.
Valentin Eșanu called on the senior administration to review the bill that stipulates the punishment for those who are to blame for Moldova’s conviction by the ECHR. According to him, those to blame should pay the damages awarded by the Court to victims of the wrongdoings, not the citizens, by their contributions to the state budget. He said the money he is to be paid by the state under the ECHR judgment will be given to a law firm for bringing to justice those who are to blame in his case.
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