The former Prosecutor General of Moldova, Alexandr Stoianoglo, was acquitted by the magistrates of the Buiucani Court in the case in which he was accused of exceeding his official duties.

In the operative part of the judgment, the judges state: “His act does not meet the elements of the crime (…) He is considered rehabilitated”.

Stoianoglo, retained in 2021

Alexandr Stoianoglo was suspended from his post as Prosecutor General in early October 2021, under investigation for passive bribery, false statements, abuse of office and exceeding the duties of his office. On 26 September 2023, Alexandr Stoianoglo was relieved of his duties as Prosecutor General.

According to a press release issued by the Presidency, “given that the pronouncement of a decision by the courts on the legality of Alexandr Stoianoglo’s dismissal from office by the PSC is delayed, the signing of the decree comes in the context of the European Union’s recommendations to ensure the replacement of the post of Prosecutor General and the Republic of Moldova’s obligations to fulfil the conditions of the justice system”.

The suspended Prosecutor General, Alexandr Stoianoglo, was detained on 5 October 2021.

The moment Stoianoglo is escorted by SIS officers:

Footage from the search of the suspended prosecutor general’s home:

On 8 October 2021 he was placed under house arrest and later under judicial control. No preventive measures are currently applied against Stoianoglo.

How Alexandr Stoianoglo’s work has been evaluated

On 23 May this year, after more than three hours of debate, the PSC approved the report of the Evaluation Commission and gave the suspended Prosecutor General Alexandr Stoianoglo an “unsatisfactory” rating. The evaluation of Stoianoglo’s work was completed at the end of April and a report on his work was approved by the Evaluation Commission in early May. The members of the Evaluation Commission gave scores from 0 to 10 for each performance indicator attributed to Stoianoglo.

The Commission’s 130-page report reviewed the work of the suspended Prosecutor General. The members of the Evaluation Commission note in the report that during his tenure as Prosecutor General, Alexandr Stoianoglo allegedly tolerated “the apparently lawful activities of his own employees, prosecutors who were involved in the faulty and unlawful handling of disciplinary proceedings, criminal cases that were subsequently dismissed by court decisions or closed due to lack of facts”. Another conclusion of the report is that files of major public interest were examined superficially or by redirecting referrals to other actors who did not have the institutional powers to initiate criminal investigations.

The report also states that Stoianoglo did not implement any “viable policies” on human resources during his tenure. The final evaluation score awarded to Stoianoglo by the committee is – 2.19 points, which corresponds to “unsatisfactory”.

Criminal cases involving the former Prosecutor General

Alexandr Stoianoglo’s name appears in a number of criminal cases, including excessive force, violation of the inviolability of personal life and illicit enrichment. The case concerning excessive power or exceeding the duties of his office is before the magistrates of the Buiucani court in Chisinau. The last hearing in this case has been scheduled for 28 February.

Moldova sentenced at the ECHR in Stoianoglo case

Moldova will have to pay former Prosecutor General Alexandr Stoianoglo €3 600 in moral damages. The European Court of Human Rights ruled on 24 October 2023 that our country had violated Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, which provides for the right of access to a court. The case concerned the Prosecutor General’s inability to appeal against his suspension, which was triggered by criminal proceedings against him.

The Court drew attention to the fact that procedural safeguards should be implemented to ensure that the suspension mechanism was not used arbitrarily.

“In this regard, the Court also noted the increasing importance attached to procedural fairness in cases involving the dismissal of prosecutors, including the intervention of an independent authority in decisions affecting the appointment and dismissal of prosecutors. The Court found that the applicant was not granted any form of judicial protection in relation to his suspension, which prevented him from exercising his duties and deprived him of his salary for more than two years,” according to the European institution.