The PFD Told the Journalists who Asked for an Interview with Filat that It Could Not Be Allowed Without the Approval of the Court or the Prosecutor’s Office

The Penitentiary Facilities Department (PFD) responded to six journalists who had asked for an interview with former Prime Minister Vlad Filat, who is currently detained in Penitentiary No. 13, that it cannot authorize such an interview without a permission of a court or of the criminal investigation authority (in this case, the Prosecutor General’s Office). The newspaper  Ziarul Național also published a photo of the letter signed on December 14, 2017 by Aureliu Suhan, the interim director of the PFD.

The PFD’s head of the Public Relations, Mass Media, and Secretariat Department, Oleg Pantea, confirmed to Media-azi.md the authenticity of the published document.

According to the PFD’s response, Vlad Filat is targeted in another ongoing criminal investigation, so the Department refused an interview, noting it might be allowed if there is a special permission from the criminal investigation body or from the court examining the case.

In his reply, Suhan mentioned the provisions of the Enforcement Code and the Regulation on the enforcement of criminal sentences.

In accordance with the Enforcement Code, institutions providing detention of prisoners may be visited by other persons with a special permission from the administration of these institutions or from responsible officials of higher authorities, or by a court decision. As for the detainees pending trial, a decision of the criminal investigation body or of the court examining the case would be needed.

The Regulation on enforcement of criminal sentences stipulates that the detainees pending trial have the right to short meetings, offered on the basis of a decision of the criminal investigation body, judge, or court, with mandatory permission from the administration of the penitentiary facility.

Earlier in December, six Moldovan journalists – Vasile Botnaru (Radio Free Europe), Lorena Bogza (PRO TV), Natalia Morari (TV-8), Gheorghe Gonta (TVC-21), Nicolae Negru (the newspaper Ziarul Național), and Igor Volnitschi (Tribuna) – signed an appeal to the Ministry of Justice and the PFD, asking for an interview with Vlad Filat.

The journalists motivated their appeal by the fact that Vlad Filat held important official positions and has already been convicted of corruption and abuse by a final and irrevocable court decision.