Moldova: Police use force against Petrenko Group prisoners in court

The incident took place in the Riscani sector court in Chisinau during a hearing, with the participation of judges Natalia Klevady, Grigore Cazacu and Tatiana Bivol.

As stated by participants, on Thursday, September 29, at the beginning of the hearing, the judges, “violating legal norms, refused to hand over the application of the defendants to the Constitutional Court on the unconstitutionality of certain provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code.”

“After the defendants challenged the composition of the judicial panel, the court decided to expel the members of the ‘Petrenko Group’ from the courtroom and consider the prosecutors’ request for an extension of judicial review in their absence. Physical force was used by police against the defendants in the courtroom,” defendant Pavel Grigorchuk wrote on social media.

According to him, “in protest, lawyers for the Petrenko Group left the courtroom, and the court adjourned the meeting until 14:00 today.”

After this incident, former deputy Grigory Petrenko and lawyer Ana Ursachi announced a press conference at the courthouse, starting at 14.30.