Police have dismantled a coordinated network from Moscow that aimed to destabilize the situation in the Republic of Moldova, including at the protests organized on Sunday by the Movement for the People, which is linked to the Şor Party, Radio Chisinau reports.
Viorel Cernăuțeanu, the head of the General Police Inspectorate (IGP), revealed at a press conference that the network comprised 10 groups of 5-10 individuals each, who were planning to cause unrest during the protests in Chisinau. Each member of these groups was promised a reward of up to 10 thousand US dollars.
The groups were reportedly coordinated by a representative of special services from the Russian Federation.
Cernăuțeanu presented evidence, including video and audio recordings and fragments of correspondence, to support the claim that the 10 groups were given instructions to use individuals with dual Russian and Moldovan citizenship, brought in from Moscow, to destabilize public order in Chisinau.
The head of the IGP reported that 25 individuals were interrogated by law enforcement, and seven were subsequently arrested, including a contact person between the Russian special services and the groups planning the disturbances.
Most of those questioned have started cooperating with the investigators, according to Cernăuțeanu.
However, in a statement posted on the Şor Party’s website on March 11, the formation accuses president Maia Sandu and the ruling Action and Solidarity Party of having launched “the biggest wave of intimidation, blackmail and persecution of citizens who intend to participate in the rally on Sunday, March 12”.
“We qualify these actions of the regime as a crime against the universal right of citizens to protest and a crime against the right to free movement and a violation of the right to freely express one’s choice,” reads the statement of the Şor Party, Radio Chisinau reports.
