Cernăuțeanu, about Nesterovschi and Lozovan: "They will end up in the dock someday"
The law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Moldova cannot intervene to identify and detain the convicted deputies Alexandr Nesterovschi and Irina Lozovan, who are allegedly hiding in the Transnistrian region, since there is no constitutional control on the left bank of the Nistru. The statement was made by the head of the General Police Inspectorate, Viorel Cernăuțeanu, for the Teleradio-Moldova Company. He pointed out that the authorities strictly respect the legal framework and that any action opened in the region would be impossible.
The authorities will react in strict accordance with the law, so all the measures that are necessary for the location, identification and detention of people will be ensured to the extent that we do not put other people at risk and in danger. There are legal levers and actions, there are measures attributed to law enforcement institutions that can take place when deemed appropriate. Therefore, we should not be scared by the fact that some citizens who evade responsibility for a court decision are in the Transnistrian region. All citizens who are convicted sooner or later will end up in the dock. I am confident that the law will ensure that we can detain these people.
Moreover, Viorel Cernăuțeanu said that the authorities in Chișinău will not resort to actions that would endanger the security of police officers or could be interpreted as provocations.
As long as we do not have full constitutional control on the left bank of the Nistru, we cannot say that we can go there openly, but this is not the only solution for these two citizens to somehow be subject to the execution of the court decision.
The authorities hope that Lozovan and Nesterovschi will realize their responsibility as they hold mandates as members of Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, and they must respect the legal framework. Asked about the measures that law enforcement officers are taking to identify them, Cernăuțeanu emphasized that the measures taken by the police cannot be publicly disclosed, but he assured that all legal instruments are being used.
It is important that the individuals have not left the territory of the Republic of Moldova. We must continue to rely on the reintegration of the country so that that part of the territory of the Republic of Moldova does not shelter fugitives.
We remind you that the unrecognised authorities in Tiraspol declared yesterday evening that they have no information about the presence of convicted deputy Alexandr Nesterovschi on the territory of the region. On the other hand, the Reintegration Bureau said for Teleradio-Moldova Company that the veracity and credibility of this information cannot be proven due to the temporary lack of effective control over the region by the constitutional authorities.
We would like to point out that the director of the SIS, Alexandru Musteață, announced on March 31 that the convicted deputy Alexandr Nesterovschi is currently in the Transnistrian region, where he allegedly arrived with the support of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Chișinău. According to him, the operation is part of a hybrid aggression mechanism coordinated by Russia against the Republic of Moldova.
The SIS statements were later rejected by the Russian Embassy, which described the accusations as “unfounded and unacceptable insinuations”.
In the “La 360 de grade” show on Radio Moldova, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, condemned the involvement of the Russian Federation in the Nesterovschi case. The head of state described these actions as “unfriendly” and accused the Kremlin of “interference in the justice of the Republic of Moldova”. At the same time, experts suggest that he can be extradited only in the case of unofficial cooperation between law enforcement agencies on the right and left banks.
We remind you that on March 19, MP Alexandr Nesterovschi was sentenced to 12 years in prison in a closed penitentiary. The sentence was pronounced in his absence. MP Irina Lozovan, accused of receiving $30,000 from fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor to bribe the mayor of Ocnita, was sentenced on March 31 to six years in prison. Both MPs are wanted, but they are still missing.
