Ex-deputy: Plahotniuc’s Judge-Gestapo denied my child the right to necessary treatment
Sept. 2: Due to the “vindictive whims” of oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, who “personally oversees” the case of the Petrenko Group political prisoners, the child of the former parliamentary deputy was denied the right to medical treatment outside the country.
This was stated by Grigory Petrenko on Friday, September 2, after the Riscani sector court in Chisinau, Moldova, extended the regime of judicial supervision with a prohibition on leaving the country, and also rejected his request, in which he asked the court to allow him a single trip abroad on September 19 to obtain a medical consultation for a minor child. The court considered the above argument, i.e. “Consultation for the Child,” an unjustified reason.
“The prosecutors’ request for extension of judicial review for 30 days was not a surprise to us. In recent months, each time we appear, this is all they do. There is no consideration of the merits of the case. The court’s decision is also not a surprise, they again took the side of the prosecution against us, despite the absence of proof for their arguments. However, I am outraged that they rejected my request to go abroad with my child, which was submitted with relevant documents, at the doctors’ recommendation in relation to my minor child. The court, however, wrote that these arguments lacked credibility for approval. They deprive the child of medical treatment abroad,” said Grigory Petrenko at the end of the session.
The former MP regarded the decision as illegal and said he would appeal. He said that the case, which is “personally controlled by Plahotniuc,” will serve as a new reason to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). “This decision was made as directed. I do not know if these judges have children. But the whole country should know their names. Such methods were used by the Gestapo in Nazi Germany during Hitler’s period, when they limited the right of citizens to medical services. I think there will be another appeal to the ECHR. It’s not my child’s fault that he cannot go to the doctor alone. I believe that his rights have been violated by this court decision,” said Petrenko.
The opposition leader believes that “Plahotniuc fears that revelations of his crimes may reach the Council of Europe or the European Parliament.”
“The motive of today’s decision was a political order. Plahotniuc oversees this case himself, he probably fears that if I was able to go abroad, then I would hold a meeting with someone from the Council of Europe or the European Parliament, and so he instructed the court to extend these restrictions. For him, nothing is sacred. They are not quite right, if they carry out such political orders and do not allow a child to get necessary medical treatment. My child undergoes this treatment annually. I submitted documents from Moldova and abroad, but the judges ignored them,” noted Petrenko.
The former deputy and leader of the opposition party Our Home is Moldova (Red Bloc) Grigory Petrenko and his fellow protesters remain under judicial control, without the right to leave the country or take part in protests.
The decision was made on Friday, September 2, by the Riscani sector court. The judges granted the request of prosecutor Nick Shendri “to extend for 30 days the preventive measures in the form of judicial control.” Thus, the protesters of the Petrenko Group will be under judicial control until October 4.
Petrenko and his comrades, who were arrested after participating in anti-oligarchy protests in September 2015, were recognized as “political prisoners” in a U.S. State Department report on human rights, by representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the federal government of Germany.
Red Star News + Translations 