Tiraspol, 3 March. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. Kishinev's OSCE mission hosted a meeting of the chief negotiators of Pridnestrovie and Moldova — Vitaly Ignatyev and Gheorghe Balan. The negotiators discussed a wide range of issues. Special attention was given to the issue of politically motivated criminal charges.
«We have urged our Moldovan partners to solve this problem. The scandalous thing is filing criminal charges against the officials that directly participate in the work of expert working groups, which is an obvious fact of putting political pressure on Pridnestrovian participants. We hope that the Moldovan side will show a conscientious approach as solving this problem is the most significant factor promoting dialogue normalisation and confidence building," said the Pridnestrovian foreign minister, Vitaly Ignatyev, at a news conference.
According to Pridnestrovie's MFA, to date Moldovan law enforcement agencies have filed over 200 politically motivated criminal charges against Pridnestrovian citizens. Among them are Pridnestrovian officials, politicians and entrepreneurs.
«We have heard different evaluations from Moldovan representatives. But facts show this is an avalanche-like, full-scale prosecution," noted Ignatyev.
«This makes specific problems for the people, their integral rights and freedoms, including their freedom of movement. The issue requires prompt elaboration," he underscored.
In the meantime, Ignatyev's counterpart Gheorghe Balan said that there is no politically motivated prosecution against Pridnestrovian citizens.
«There are no politically motivated criminal cases… The best evidence these cases are not politically charged is that they have not been initiated because of a post this or that person may hold… If criminal charges do exist, they have been initiated on some offences," Gheorghe Balan told journalists.
Pridnestrovie's negotiator, however, presented a different argument. In December 2015 the Greek authorities refused to extradite to Moldova Pridnestrovian Ministry of Foreign Affairs officer Maxim Kuzmichev, against whom Moldova brought criminal charges. Athens's court of law acquitted Kuzmichev instead.
«We consider the ruling of Athens’s court of law a precedent. This ruling shows that criminal prosecution against the Pridnestrovian law enforcement officer was far-fetched, politically charged and void of any legal and, moreover, criminal component. And what is more, Moldova was refused extradition. The decision was made by Greece — an EU member. This is one of the most significant arguments showing there is a whole layer of politically motivated criminal cases, over 200 in number, which have been initiated against Pridnestrovian citizens — public officials and businessmen," said Vitaly Ignatyev.
