CHISINAU, Dec 2 Supporters and representatives of the opposition party in Moldova «Shor» is picketing the building of the Ministry of Justice in Chisinau, demanding the resignation of the head of the department, Sergei Litvinenko, the correspondent reports.
Earlier, Litvinenko called for the liquidation of the «Shor» party, which holds mass anti-government rallies in Chisinau. He said that he had collected documents to appeal to the Constitutional Court, this request was approved by the government and submitted to the court for consideration.
On Friday, several hundred people went to the picket, the demonstrators brought a poster on which the head of the Ministry of Justice is depicted behind grille.
“We demand that Litvinenko resign. We need honest justice that does not refer to “telephone law.” We see that now the fate of people and companies is being decided by phone call, by correspondence in instant messengers, instructions and through blackmail, because even among prosecutors and judges are honest people, but they are being blackmailed,» Pavel Verezhanu, one of the leaders of the protest movement, the mayor of the city of Orhei, said at the rally.
In Chisinau, a political scandal broke out earlier, the administration of the President of Moldova announced the hacking of the official Telegram channel of Maia Sandu. It constantly featured an article that talked about alleged acts of corruption by Litvinenko. The authors of the message also assured that they received the minister’s personal correspondence from his phone, so they have evidence that he discussed with interested parties the fabrication of the procedure for electing Veronika Dragalin to the post of head of the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office. Litvinenko called the publications «fake», but a number of officials whose names appeared in the correspondence admitted that they had discussed with the minister.
The Shor party, which the Party of Communists joined, has been holding protests in Chisinau since mid-September. The protesters accuse the authorities of failing to cope with the crisis, point to a record inflation over the past 20 years, which in September amounted to 33.97% on an annualized basis. The country's leadership is criticized for its unwillingness to negotiate better gas prices with Russia, as well as for political pressure on opposition representatives.