Criminal inquiry launched after 17 policemen injured in clashes with demonstrators in Chisinau
CHISINAU. April 24 (Interfax) - Moldova's Interior Minister Alexandru Jizdan has said that the people involved in the riots in Chisinau, last Sunday, will be held accountable in accordance with the law.
In speaking at a press conference on Monday, he said that prosecutors have launched a criminal inquiry under Article 285 of the Moldovan Criminal Code ("Organizing of mass disturbances"). He confirmed that the police caught one of the demonstrators red-handed as he was trying to inflict an injury on an officer.
"We have a witness to what happened, the victim, and the aggressor. He is a Moldovan citizen, and will be held to account in the accordance with the law. At the same time, there is a group of individuals being investigated on the subject of their possible involvement in acts of violence against police officers," Jizdan said.
He said 17 police officers have been injured during the protests, and the ensuing clashes, five of them were hospitalized. Their condition is satisfactory, all having sustained only moderate injuries. They will be discharged from hospital before the end of the week.
"All of the victims sustained injuries from the stones that were hurled by the protestors. I want to urge the population to calm down. Unlike the police officers, only two protestors sought medical aid because of the use of the tear gas. The police acted correctly. How should a policeman react if someone is attacking him with a stone in hand? There were instances of the preventive use of gas. It was used in accordance with police guidelines. Everything occurred within the law," Jizdan said.
The protest held in Chisinau, last Sunday, was organized by the Civil Platform DA (Dreptate si adevar, or Dignity and Justice) party. The protestors demanded a referendum on constitutional amendments, government resignation, and early parliamentary elections simultaneously with the president one. According to the protest organizers, at least 70,000 citizens took part in the protest. Police said no more than 10,000 people turned up.
After the protest, which lasted for about two hours in Chisinau's central square, its participants surrounded the government building. Then, they marched towards the house and office center of Moldovan oligarch, Vlad Plahotniuc. In both places, the protestors clashed with police. The most serious clashes occurred near Plahotniuc's house on Bulgara Street. The police were pelted with eggs, and stones, from a paving slab that was removed from the nearby central Stefan cel Mare Avenue.
