The Chisinau Court of Appeals rejected the appeal filed by Cristian Rizea, an ex-MP who fled Romania to Chisinau after being convicted of corruption. Rizea sought the overturning of the President’s Office’s decision to suspend the decree that granted him Moldovan citizenship.

Meanwhile, the Romanian Ministry of Justice today wrote a new formal letter to the Moldovan authorities inquiring about the progress of the extradition process in relation to Rizea.

Rizea fled Romania, where he was sentenced to 4 years in prison. His application for asylum in Moldova was rejected, but he was able to acquire Moldovan citizenship.

In Moldova, the former PSD lawmaker was arrested in November 2020 after his citizenship was revoked by presidential decree. However, he was released in May 2021 because the maximum period during which a person can be detained in Moldova before being extradited had expired. His lawyers had challenged the decree revoking his citizenship, and its legality is still being examined.