Interim President Mihai Ghimpu and Chisinau mayor Dorin Chirtoaca held a press conference today, during which they presented a new 11-minute video shot in front of the Government on the night of April 7.
The recording shows hundreds of police officers and special forces hitting and kicking protesters senseless. At one point, the camera shoots a protester's body lying on the ground, who is not moving. Mr. Ghimpu and Mr. Chirtoaca suggested that that could be Valeriu Boboc, the young protester who was beaten to death on the night of April 7. Mr. Boboc's alleged body was later put in the back of a pick-up truck and taken to the hospital.
The two officials also suggest that Chisinau's police chief at the time - Iacob Gumenita - also showed up in front of the Government building and kicked protesters. Mr. Gumenita was fired when the ruling Alliance for European Integration took power. Mr. Ghimpu and Mr. Chirtoaca also suggested a number of names of police officers who were probably beating protesters. The faces of the attackers are difficult to identify because of the grainy footage.
Mr. Ghimpu and Mr. Chirtoaca said that it is still unclear who ordered the repression campaign, although former Communist President Vladimir Voronin told the press that the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which seems to have coordinated the actions, was acting based on his orders.
No person has yet been convicted for beating protesters last year.
In a related news story, current Chisinau police chief Serghei Cociorva resigned today after meeting with Prime Minister Vlad Filat and after the new tape of the repression was released. Chisinau mayor Dorin Chirtoaca has accused Mr. Cociorva of being a part of the repression campaign in April.
The video can be seen on a number of websites, including Unimedia.md, www.stireazilei.md, and www.protv.md
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