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Russian blogger to stay in custody in Moldova for another 30 days

He “gets more dejected with each court meeting,” - lawyer

CHISINAU, September 13 (Itar-Tass) —— The Moldovan court ruled that Russian blogger Eduard Bagirov is to remain in custody for another 30 days, Bagirov’s lawyer Denis Kalaida told reporters on Tuesday. He said Bagirov is held in satisfactory conditions but he “gets more dejected with each court meeting.”

Bagirov was detained in Moldova on June 16. The Moldovan authorities did not confirm his being under arrest for some time, and then officially informed the Russian embassy of this. “Bagirov is accused of being involved in unrest in April 2009,” press secretary of the Prosecutor-General’s Office Maria Vieiru told Itar-Tass. Representatives of the liberal opposition annoyed with the victory of the Communists in the election then staged protests which led to raids of the buildings of parliament and the presidential residence. Bagirov mentioned his involvement in those events in his publications.

Mark Tkachuk, a Communist leader, said, “Pressure is brought on Bagirov and other active participants in the April events so that they should acknowledge their involvement” with the Party of Communists. “The Russian writer is beings pressured to give a written testimony that he received instructions from me,” Tkachuk stressed. Tkachuk accused the Moldovan secret services of planning provocations against the opposition.”

Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov had earlier expressed to the Moldovan authorities the interest that “the situation with Bagirov’s detention be settled as soon as possible.”