“I didn’t become involved and will not become involved in justice in the Republic of Moldova,” said President Igor Dodon, referring to the accusation that he influenced the court decision in the case of expulsion of the seven Turkish teachers, IPN reports.
“As regards this case concerning Botnari, the Turkish teachers, let’s clarify some aspects. First of all, it was confirmed what I said in 2018 – that the President and the presidential institution haven’t been involved in those wrongdoings. This fact was confirmed by the MPs of the ACUM Bloc last August – September, when parliamentary investigations were carried out,” Igor Dodon stated in the program “President Responds”.
According to him, what happened was a mistake committed by the authorities or the state administration – those who held power in Moldova at that moment. “As regards the trial, the decision is not taken by the President. He does not become involved in such things. There are probably details related to state security or state secret and the court decided that its judgment should be secret,” said President Dodon.
As to Moldova’s conviction in this case, Igor Dodon said the covering of the costs incurred by the state is a positive thing. Not the President, but the prosecutor and the court of law should pronounce if the sentence is severe or not.
The seven Turkish teachers of the Lyceum “Orizont” were expelled from Moldova on September 6, 2018. In a TV program several days ago, Prosecutor General Alexandr Stoianoglo said the former SIS director was given a suspended sentence, but he didn’t give details. The next day, the Prosecutor General’s Office issued a press release, saying that the case was sent to court this February and the examined as a classified one. The sentence was given in July, but was classed as secret.
Later, the MPs of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) asserted the prosecutor general lied to the whole country as the ex-director of the Security and Intelligence Service Vasile Botnari was only fined 88,000 lei in the case concerning the expulsion of the seven Turkish teachers.
