On December 18-19, 2019, the Open Dialogue Foundation’s team, together with human rights defenders from Moldova, conducted very constructive meetings in the European Parliament in plenary session in Strasbourg. The delegation consisted of Ana Ursachi, attorney prosecuted for political reasons, Stefan Gligor, co-founder and Justice and Advocacy Program Director at the Center for Policies and Reforms, Stella Juntuan, activist and former member of the Moldovan parliament, Grigore Petrenco, political refugee in Germany and leader of the Red Bloc opposition party, and was led by our colleague Martin Mycielski, Public Affairs Director at ODF.
With a packed agenda, we managed to meet with over ten MEPs: Viola von Cramon-Taubadel (Greens; Germany), Markéta Gregorová (Greens; Czech Republic), Ramona Strugariu (Renew Europe; Romania), Dragoș Tudorache (Renew Europe; Romania), Helmut Scholz (GUE; Germany)) and Andrius Kubilius (EPP; Lithuania), as well as with representatives of European Commission, European External Action Service and political group advisors.
The goal was to update them on the recent developments in the country following the fall of the Maia Sandu government as well as current cases of political prosecution. We advocated for holding those responsible to account, specifically super-oligarch and ousted Democratic Party leader Vladimir Plahotniuc and his allies.
Last but not least, the delegation took part in the 7th Meeting of the Delegation to the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee (D-MD PAC), where, notably, MEP Helmut Scholz spoke not just on the issue of cases of political prosecution, but also raised awareness of the lack of independence of state-owned media and for-profit broadcasting organisations in the country.
Read also:
- ODF’s report: “Has the State been Captured Yet Again? Corruption and Political Persecutions in Moldova” (December 17, 2019)
- “Moldovan Parliamentary Commission Investigating ODF: Open Lies, Attacks on the Opposition and Smokescreen for the Government’s EU Funds Fiasco (November 21, 2018)
- Moldova has closed the political investigation against Lyudmyla Kozlovska (May 14, 2020)