Judges turn down application on cancellation of decree on withdrawing Moldovan citizenship to former Romania's president

12:10 | 22.01.2018 Category: Social

Chisinau, 22 January /MOLDPRES/ - Magistrates of the Botanica district court of Chisinau today turned down an application of the former president of Romania, Traian Basescu, on the cancellation of the decree on the withdrawal of Moldova’s citizenship.

The former Romanian head of state was present at the court session. After the ruling had been pronounced, Basescu did not want to comment on judges’ decision. “I am to consult the lawyer and afterwards we will decide whether we will appeal the ruling at the Court of Appeal or not,” Basescu said.

At the same time, the lawyer of Traian Basescu, Andrei Bivol, described the magistrates’ ruling as groundless. “This is an absolutely illegal decision. Igor Dodon flagrantly attempted to withdraw the citizenship, in the absence of a decision by the Interior Ministry and the Intelligence and Security Service. The fact that, when receiving the citizenship, Traian Basescu was concerned in more criminal files is an unsubstantial argument, as these facts were known and President Nicolae Timofti knew this fact,” Bivol said.

On the other hand, the lawyer of Igor Dodon, Maxim Lebedinschi, said the decision was legal. “The procedure of getting the citizenship was infringed. There were legal grounds for withdrawing the citizenship and namely the fact that, when getting the citizenship, Basescu hid that he was under criminal prosecution; yet, our country’s legislation sees that persons under criminal prosecution cannot get Moldova’s citizenship. The complainer will already decide whether we will appeal the court ruling or not,” Lebedinschi said.

The former president of Romania, Traian Basescu, received Moldova’s citizenship in June 2016, based on a decree by the former Moldovan president, Nicolae Timofti. Afterwards, on 3 January 2017, the new head of state, Igor Dodon, signed a decree on the withdrawal of the citizenship granted to Basescu. As a result of this, Basescu appealed the ruling at the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) and on 1 February, CSJ submitted the file to the Chisinau court.

(Reporter A. Ciobanu, editor M. Jantovan)

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