Prime Minister calls for changes to asylum framework in Moldova
13:13 | 13.07.2024 Category: Political
Chisinau, July 13 /MOLDPRES/- Prime Minister Dorin Recean calls for an urgent amendment of the regulatory framework on asylum in Moldova. The request was made after a discussion in the government with decision-makers from ministries and relevant institutions.
In the context of the recent events in the capital's Riscani district, when a Turkish citizen was shot dead by an assassin on a scooter, the premier said that some foreign citizens who are wanted internationally are taking advantage of "loopholes" in the system to remain at large in Moldova.
"We have found that certain foreign citizens, asylum seekers, who are wanted internationally, use a corruption scheme and take advantage of loopholes in the system to remain at large in the Republic of Moldova. A foreign citizen's asylum application does not allow him to be detained or banned from entering the country, and the dragging out of cases for years allows these people to go free," Recean said.
The meeting was attended by Justice Minister Veronica Mihailov-Moraru, Interior Minister Adrian Efros, Head of the General Inspectorate of Police Viorel Cernăuțeanu, as well as representatives of the Intelligence and Security Service, Prosecutor General's Office and the Superior Council of Magistracy.
Dorin Recean has asked the Interior Ministry to take measures to verify the situation of asylum seekers, including those whose asylum applications have been rejected and are under judicial proceedings.
The Prime Minister said that there are 38 foreign citizens in Moldova wanted for bank fraud, tax evasion and violent crimes.
On July 10, near a terrace in the capital's Risccani district, an unidentified person with a covered face, riding an electric scooter with an unidentified pistol, shot four shots in the back and three shots in the head of a 41-year-old Turkish man, who died immediately. Law enforcement officials said the victim was part of a criminal gang. The murdered man arrived in the Republic of Moldova in 2022 through the Transnistrian segment.
The General Prosecutor's Office initiated criminal proceedings in accordance with the elements of the crime of murder committed with particular cruelty.