Iurie Vâlcov, the young man who threw a bottle of inflammable gas towards the procession of Prime Minister Filat and Chancellor Merkel, has been condemned to seven years of prison for his act, even though the prosecutor asked for one year less. Vâlcov, who is considered guilty even by his lawyer (who was offered by the state), refused to be present at Court. The sentence was pronounced in his absence. Given the fact that he was condemned this summer in another case, the young man will spend the next 13 years behind bars. During this period, none of his relatives were interested in him, says the prosecutor and his lawyer.

Last Friday, the Press Service from the Public Prosecutor’s office announced that on that day the verdict for Iurie Vâlcov case will be pronounced at the Court from Râșcani in Chișinău. The young man, while under the influence of cannabis, in August 2012, attacked the procession of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Prime Minister of R. Moldova at the time, Vlad Filat, with a molotov cocktail. Back then, the young man said that he didn’t intend to attack those two but he actually wanted to set himself on fire in front of them. On Friday, the hearing did not take place as  the lawyer and the accused did not show up. Prosecutors said that the accused refused to be escorted to the court.

13 years for robbery and attack of high officials

On Wednesday, November 13, another hearing was scheduled. Although it was initially announced that the accused would be brought by force, Vâlcov was not present at the hearing this time either but this fact did not stop the magistrate Cornelia Vârlan to finally pronounce the sentence. Vârlan gave Vâlcov seven years of prison, the highest punishment established by state for the imposed act named by prosecutors, aggravated hooliganism, even though Oleg Oală, the prosecutor in charge of the case, asked for only 6 years of condemnation in prison.

However, given the fact that Vâlcov has another conviction for eight years, Oleg Oală called a cumulative penalty of 13 years imprisonment, which was approved by the court as well. Thus, he will spend 13 years, 2 of which he already served, in a semi-closed penitentiary.

“The defendant was not escorted to the trial as he was not subjected to a search. Taking this into consideration, we do not have the right to escort him”, said a policeman on the prosecutor’s request. In other words, Vâlcov refused to be searched, being aware that without it he can not be brought to the hearing.   “Yes, I asked for six years but the Court decided to give him seven, the maximum from the Penal Code for such cases. It is the Court’s decision. Concurrently, it is the same punishment I asked for”, said Prosecutor Oală. ”I will talk to my client to see what we will do next. From his position, which he declares himself as being innocent, he would appeal the sentence”, said Vitalie Pâslaru, his lawyer granted by the state.

Even his lawyer is considering him guilty

Before the sentence was pronounced, Pâslaru told ZdG that he tried to explain to his client that it would be better for him to admit  guilt, in order to get a milder punishment. “He said he is not admitting his guilt. He is recognising the act but not as hooliganism”, states the defender who thinks the prosecutors did right in this case. ”I did not see, in this case, that it is not hooliganism. The elements of such a misdemeanor are visible. Another thing is when a person without knowledge in law, does not perceive hooliganism.  I think the prosecutors provided sufficient  evidence, that we cannot say are inconclusive. There is video evidence of the cars from the procession. Witnesses, who mostly are policemen. We do not have any evidence. No witnesses who would say that he was only planning to protest. He is claming he protested, and I supported his position as I am his defender”, states Vitalie Pâslaru.

The lawyer is saying that during the examination of the case, Iurie Vâlcov, refused to come to the hearing many times. “He repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction towards the prosecutor. He had a contradictory behaviour, going from one extreme to another. To better understand what I am saying, look at what he wrote down from one of the cases where he did not want to come to the Court. He wrote that he is refusing to come out from the prison cell because the cars from the prison service are not ready for transporting people in winter and his socks are ripped…”, declared the defender, who said that it was not discussed at the hearing, even for a moment, that Vâlcov could have been convinced by someone to commit the act that he had undertaken towards Angela Merkel and Vlad Filat. The psychiatric evaluation done a year ago, showed he is healthy.

He wanted to protest against law enforcement

Previously, ZdG, after a conversation with Iurie’s relatives, wrote that they think the young man, only 24 years old, took action on the evening of the August 22 under someone’s order, possibly for money, because “his mind is not like that”.  At the hearing, however, says Iurie’s lawyer, none of his relatives participated and tried to help in any way. “None of his relatives asked about him. Nobody talked to me”, says the lawyer.  As Vitalie Pâslaru announces, Vâlcov motivated his attack on the officials’ procession due to the fact that he wanted to protest against law enforcement, which he states were “forcing” him in the criminal case opened in his name and examined during that period.

In that case,  Iurie was already condemned by the Appellate Court in Chişinău on the May 20, 2013, with eight years of imprisonment, when the first instance proved him not guilty on the basis that the crime was not committed by him. Vâlcov was accused by prosecutors, on April 9, 2009, the day he was released from custody from another case, where he was accused of theft,  where the Buiucani Court applied a punishment of probation. Together with other unknown persons, after watching a house on Belinschi str. in Chişinău, with a metal crowbar and a screwdriver, they jumped over the fence, broke the door, opened a safe, and took 50,000 USD, a golden bracelet with diamonds and an i-Phone, the total amount of 606,600 lei.

He declared that he was mistreated by law enforcement

Initially, during the prosecution, Vâlcov admitted his guilt, but later changed his mind, saying that he is not guilty and that he was mistreated by law enforcement and obliged to admit his involvement. At the hearing, Vâlcov declared that he was not even in Chişinău when he was accused of breaking into that house, he was in  Valea Perjei, his native village, with other friends. His friends testified to what he said. The first hearing, in 2010, proved him not guilty as the act was not committed by him, butut at the Appellate Court (AC)in Chişinău, things changed. 

Here the case was examined after the young man attacked the officials’ procession, and on May 20, 2013, a panel of judges consisting of Ion Pleşca, the President ofof CA Chişinău, Liliana Catan and Alexandru Şpac condemned him to eight years of imprisonment. They motivated their position saying that the first hearing gave a wrong interpretation of the evidence. The three magistrates specified that Vâlcov’s mistreatment was not demonstrated in any documents, twice refusing to proceed prosecution on those acts.  Vâlcov’s friends’ statements, who were saying he was in his native village during that night, were not taken in consideration, because „these whitnesses are good acquaintances, defendant’s friends, and he might have asked them to do so”. At the hearing, the Judge condemned Vâlcov based on the fact that during the prosecution he admitted his guilt and his fingerprints were found on a package with money. The young man’s laywers did not attack the decision at the Supreme Court, so it remained final.

Iurie Vâlcov’s parents died ten years ago. Since then he was looked after by his aunt, Eudochia. His relatives from Valea Perjei did not know that on Wednesday, November 13, he had to go to Court. They said they were talking to the young man through the prison bars when he was calling them, but he was always saying there is no need to come as they will not be allowed to see him. Iurie has a brother, Tudor, but nobody could tell us where he is.

Victor MOŞNEAG