Moldova boiled after the release of Filat
A political scandal erupted in Moldova over the parole of the country's former Prime Minister Vlad Filat.
In October 2015, he was sentenced to nine years in prison for influence peddling and passive corruption: in 2012, Filat’s government changed Moldovan lending legislation, which made it possible to steal more than a billion dollars from the country’s banks.
In August, at the request of the European Court of Human Rights, Filat's prison term was reduced by a year and 9 months due to difficult conditions of detention. Yesterday this term was taken into account by the court as served. Thus, it turned out that the ex-prime minister had already served 2/3 of the allotted time and, according to the law, was released on parole.
Another thing is noteworthy: the court did not deprive Filat of the Order of the Republic and the right to hold public positions.
All this together blew up the Moldovan Internet. Some users are sure that Filat was released by the country’s president, Igor Dodon. The reason is allegedly that the ex-prime minister plays in the same sector of the political field as Dodon’s main rival in the presidential elections, Maia Sandu. Filat can, if not take away votes, then dump a lot of dirt on the popular pro-European politician.
The mayor of Balti (the second city of Moldova), Renato Usatii, claims that Dodon is thus thanking Filat for refusing to voice incriminating evidence on the president at the request of the fugitive oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc.
Dodon himself blamed Filat Sandu for the release. Indeed, the head of the prison petitioned the court for the release of the ex-prime minister on the last day of Sandu’s cabinet. According to the president, before this, the Minister of Justice Olesya Stamate, in violation of the law, appointed Luba Zignea Suveike as the head of the National Penitentiary Agency, who initiated the release.
Sandu responded by accusing Dodon of falsifications aimed at discrediting her.
The culprit of the scandal himself, in his first interview, categorically denies the political background of his release, refuses to make any political statements and claims that he does not intend to return to politics.
Nevertheless, an account “Filat – President of Moldova” has already appeared on Facebook. The authors claim that the ex-prime minister will buy him out when he decides to run for office.
What they are right about is that the scandal with Filat’s release gave an unofficial start to the presidential race. We can safely predict that throughout the next year, Dodon and Sandu, as the main contenders, will exchange loud accusations and agitate the country.
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