CHISINAU, August 15 (Itar-Tass) — Russian bloger Eduard Bagirov will stay in a Moldovan prison for another 30 days. The court of the Chisinau central district satisfied the application of Moldova’s Office of Prosecutor-General to this effect, Bagirov’s lawyer Adrian Matkovsky told reporters on Monday.
“A court meeting was held urgently on Friday evening, unexpectedly for the defense. The reason given was to extend Barirov’s detention to continue the investigation of his case,” the lawyer said.
Bagirov was detained in Chisinau on June 16. For some time the Moldovan authorities did not confirm the fact of his detention but then they officially notified the Russian embassy in Chisinau of this. “Bagirov is accused of involvement in mass rioting in April 2009,” Maria Vieiru, the press secretary of the Office of Prosecutor-General, told Itar-Tass. Liberal opposition annoyed with the victory of the Communists in the election then staged protests that led to mass rioting. The parliament building and the presidential residence were raided. The detained mentioned his participation in the events in his publications.
According to Mark Tkachuk, former adviser to the Moldovan president, “pressure is brought on Bagirov and on others, who actively participated in the April events, so that they should admit their contacts with the opposition Party of Communists.” “The Russian writer is being compelled to give a written testimony that he had received instructions from me,” Tkachuk said. He accused the Moldovan security services of “planning a provocation against the opposition.”