Ursachi comments on night searches of her home: A new phase of banditry by the captured state
Chisinau, Moldova, November 22: In our country, banditry is perpetrated by law enforcement authorities — prosecutors, police, judges; and this marks a new phase of the capture of the state by the regime of oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc. This was stated on Tuesday, November 22, by attorney Ana Ursachi during a press conference, following a raid and all-night search of her home conducted by prosecutor Dumitru Shtefyrtse.
“Last night, in the house where my son and my father were staying, [the authorities] entered in a typically criminal way, climbing up to the second floor and turning off the electricity from the panel. When the lights went out, my father went out to the porch, and when the door was left open, the agents ran into the house. My father was able to pick up the phone and call my friends. About 40 minutes later they arrived with lawyers,” attorney Ana Ursachi said of the search of her father’s house.
According to the lawyer, a laptop and two tablets not belonging to her were seized. Ursachi added that the police illegally taped telephone conversations and want to legitimize them on the pretext that they were found during the search of her father’s home, which is false.
“I received a message that police and prosecutors have been illegally eavesdropping on conversations with many people and cannot legalize them. We are talking about politicians, activists, witnesses, and when they are published, they are going to say that I made them. They are trying to hide the fact that they wiretapped conversations of certain people behind a search warrant,” said Ursachi.
As pointed out by Ana Ursachi, the search of her relatives’ apartment is an act of revenge by Plahotniuc. “Plahotniuc wants revenge for my work in the struggle, revenge on my family who remained in the Republic of Moldova after I was able to travel to the EU to talk about the crimes of the criminal Plahotniuc regime,” added Ursachi.
She noted that all of this shows that the “capture of the state has moved to a new level, where judges, prosecutors and police are completely used for the benefit of Plahotniuc.
“We are witnessing a new phase of the capture of the state. Now, in contrast to earlier tactics, we’ve entered into a more dangerous stage, because the use of prosecutors and judges to silence witnesses is becoming more serious,” explained Ursachi.
Recall that on November 21, prosecutors conducted night searches in the home of the father of famous lawyer Anna Ursachi. As pointed out by OMEGA News Agency, the searches began at 22.10 [10:10pm] and were carried out by prosecutor Dumitru Shtefyrtse, accompanied by several civilians who hid their faces when they were filmed.
Prosecutor Dumitru Shtefyrtse conducted the raid, despite the fact that such procedures are prohibited after 22.00.
When Ana Ursachi’s father pointed this out, prosecutor Shtefyrtse said, “You can appeal against our actions later.”
In the apartment during the searches were Ana Ursachi’s father — a retired lawyer — and her son.
Commentary by Pavel Grigorchuk:
Last night we received word of the illegal searches targeting lawyer Ana Ursachi. This afternoon, she gave a press conference on Skype. All independent media have already reported this incident. But President-Elect Igor Dodon [of the Socialist Party] continues to remain silent. The fact that he won’t defend the repressed with guarantors in court is clear by now, but at least he has a tongue and mouth to express his position on the subject?
Well, I guess, it’s not presidential to speak about the persecution and pressure on members of the real opposition. Maybe the “president for all citizens” did not feel the need to advocate for the protection of any fighters against Plahotniuc, but his media could at least report the news about this? By 17:05, for the whole day, not one of the media outlets controlled by Dodon has reported even a tiny item about the incident with Ursachi. … The President-elect has not, in my opinion, passed the test of opposition. It’s safe to say that, at least in matters of repression by Plahotniuc, Dodon is already sure to be on the side of the authorities…
And the oligarch’s persecution of his enemies, against a backdrop of silence by the president-elect and the representatives of his parliamentary faction, very vividly demonstrates to us how President Dodon will “reign” – as a puppet of Plahotniuc’s captured state.
Translated by Greg Butterfield
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