Ex-Moldovan President Dodon placed in detention facility of Anti-Corruption Center

CHISINAU. May 25 (Interfax) - Detained former Moldovan President Igor Dodon has been placed at a pre-trial detention facility of the National Anti-Corruption Center. He was taken out of his house on Tuesday evening after a search of the premises ended, an Interfax correspondent reported.

The search at the three-story house in the Buiucani sector of Chisinau continued throughout the entire day. Operatives removed physical evidence, including documents and electronic storage devices, from the house.

Dodon left the building escorted by several employees of the National Anti-Corruption Center. They did not allow him to talk to numerous journalists who had been waiting outside his house all day and put him into a National Anti-Corruption Center minibus.

Several of Dodon's opponents and about a hundred of his supporters gathered outside his house. The former were chanting "Down with Dodon" and "Jail Dodon" and the latter "Free Dodon" and "We will not back down." Several scuffles occurred betwe

en supporters and opponents of the former president, however, they did not escalate into brawls. Several dozen police officers pulled apart those involved in scuffles.

Elena Kazakov, acting head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, said earlier on Tuesday that Dodon and one of his closest relatives, his wife's brother Petru Merineanu, were detained for 72 hours.