Moldovan interior ministry provides details on kidnapping of Ukrainian magistrate

Chisinau, 5 April /MOLDPRES/ - Acting Interior Minister Pavel Voicu, at a today’s news briefing, provided details on the kidnapping of a Ukrainian judge, Nicolae Ceaus, on 3 April. The official said that a person had been already detained on this case.  

According to Voicu, the police was alerted one hour after the kidnapping of the Ukrainian judge. The call to the 112 Service was received at 13:15 and the incident took place on the Nicolae Testemitanu Street from Chisinau.

Following about 50 hours of investigations, law-enforcers identified, detained and heard a suspect. Also, vehicles involved in committing the offence were found. ‘’It is too early for us to come up with charges; yet, we have also a person detained. Transport means involved in the committing of the offence were identified. Some persons are established, but we are to establish whether the identity of these people corresponds. Acts, other traces, fingerprints were raised. There is enough evidence, indexes that this crime was committed by foreign citizens, who crossed the border in Ukraine,’’ Voicu said.

Head of state Maia Sandu has earlier come up with a reaction to this case, which she described as inadmissible.

“It is inadmissible for people to disappear in Moldova, no matter whether they are citizens of Moldova of not, no matter whether it is proved that they had committed unlawful things or not. I demand immediate actions on behalf of the leadership of the Interior Ministry – the principal institution in charge of ensuring the citizens’ security and the Intelligence and Security Service (SIS), in order to clear up this worrying  disappearance of a foreign citizen on the territory of Moldova,’’ Maia Sandu wrote on her official page.       

SIS also came up with a reaction to this case today morning. ‘’In the context of the statements appeared in the public space on the involvement and/or preliminary informing of the Intelligence and Security Service (SIS) about the possible kidnapping of the Ukrainian citizen, Nicolae Ceaus, in Moldova, the institution categorically denies and firmly turns down these insinuations. We condemn any attempts of denigration and disapprove of the allegations on SIS’ involvement in activities exceeding the legal framework. We mention that SIS monitor the information received as to the incident occurred and cooperates with the law-enforcement bodies, in order to elucidate all circumstances, as well as provides support, according to the competences, to assess and give the legal assessment of the deeds claimed,’’ the SIS message reads.       

On 3 April, the police informed that a 54-year-old man had been kidnapped by three persons in the yard of a block of apartments from the Moldovan capital.

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