Chisinau, October 4 (Infotag). Patria-Rodina Labor Union leader George Sima maintains that the criminal action, started against him recently, has been fabricated for political reasons.

Sima convened a news conference in Infotag today and stated, in particular, that the ruling Communist Party is seeking to shorten the list of potential rivals at the forthcoming local elections due next spring.

“The Communists are trying to put pressure on the opposition by persecuting its leaders. Only last week, the authorities arrested a member of the Political Bureau of the Social Democratic Party Eduard Musuc, and now a legal action has been initiated against me. The pretext of the litigation was the complaint lodged by the tenants of the apartment house in the Columna Street, where Patria-Rodina Labor Union owns an small quarters below stairs. We privatized it 5 years ago fully legally upon the municipal authorities’ consent, with all necessary documents available all right. Periodically, we lease the quarters”, Sima said.

“As we came to learn recently, the Center for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption had decided that the privatization deal was unlawful. According to law, nobody may start litigation behind the person’s back. But in this particular case, the Center did not notify me whatever. I learned about the accusation long after the investigation had been started”, said the Union Chairman.

He explained the Center had put forward charges of effecting an illegal real-estate transaction and of money laundering, “but the money in question, 38 thousand lei, was used for capital repair of the semi-basement quarters”.

George Sima believes the Communist Party “is simply losing its popularity among citizens, so it is trying to crush down the opinion poll”.