PSDM leader fined over protest

The Buiucani District Court has imposed a 500 MDL fine on the leader of the Democrat Social Party Eduard Musuc, detained after the protests held on March 12. According to a press release from PSDM, the court found that the protesters crossed Stefan cel Mare Blvd illegally, that being instigated by the organisers of the protest. PSDM thinks that this decision has no legal ground, and is politically motivated. Its aim is to set a juridical ground for not authorising future protests, as well as to discourage the non-stop picketing of Parliament, an intention declared at the respective meeting. According to the party, the actions of the police and Buiucani court are new attempts to intimidate PSDM leaders and, following this example, – leaders of the protest committees, organisers of meetings from all raion centres and markets in Chisinau municipality. Musuc’s lawyers will submit a petition to the Court of Appeals within 10 days. If the respective decision is not annulled in the national courts, the meeting’s organisers are determined to submit an official application to the European Court of Human Rights. About 2,000 patentees from different zones of Moldova protested on Monday, March 12, in Chisinau, as part of the third meeting, organised by Small Business Association (SBA) and the Committee for Defence of Citizens Rights (CADC) against the Power’s decision to leave about 40,000 people without sources of subsistence after annulling the enterpriser patent.