President of Moldova Unveiled Evidence

By Irina Severin

Thursday 1^st April, 2010 (Chisinau, Moldova): Moldovan interim President Mihai Ghimpu convened a news conference where he presented video images, appearing to prove Valeru Boboc, 23, was killed by the police following youth riots in Chisinau.

Two week ago ex-president of Moldova and communist party leader, Vladimir Voronin stated during a talk-show, that Boboc had been thrown  from a window of the Parliament building’s 3rd floor by unknown persons. 

The video images were recorded by two cameras, used to observe the scene, and located on  the Government building’s roof and at ground level.  Video clearly shows that Boboc was thrown to the ground and beaten to death by up to 20 men- in police uniform and in plain-clothes.   

The assault, recorded by the cameras, was slightly longer than 10 minutes.  The body of Boboc was removed from the square by a Lada “NIVA” car.  The assailants then left the square in an organized manner. Some of them went to the Government building others  headed  in the direction of Parliament  

During this period most of the heads of the police force were present. This gives some reason to suppose  that they received a centralized  order from higher ups; and that the action was organized and coordinated.

The Mayor of Chisinau ,Dorin Chirtoaca, who assisted President Ghimpu during the news conference, described the action, shown  on video,  as “an (act) of terror against those who were unhappy with the communists winning of the elections and the prospect of a communist future for the country”.

The president stated at the news conference that he received the video one day earlier and with the help of specialists identified some of those who were present at the square. He said that he felt obliged to present the video to the people.

The head of the Parliamentary Commission for the investigation of the events of the 7 April, Vitalie Nogachevski, confirmed that the commission possesses the same video. He considers that the discloser of this evidence will be detrimental to the investigation underway and lead by the Prosecutor’s Office.   President Ghimpu, who unveiled the evidence, said that much more damaging for society is the fact that, after an entire year of investigation, people still don’t know the truth and the  people,  commited the crime, continue to serve in the state police. 

Earlier Nogachevski insisted that all evidence in the 7^th April case was hidden or destroyed by the communists before they left the office.  Concerning the instigators of the disorders, he said that  Moldova doesn't have the necessary equipment which would allow the  identification of the instigators of the riots.  Two days earlier he announced that the commission won’t present a public report on the 7^th April’s events, on which it worked for several months. The public hearings of the report were planned for the 31 March.