MOSCOW, June 5 (RIA Novosti) - The health condition of Valery Pasat, Moldova's ex-defense minister and former director of the republican Information and Security Service, the advisor to RAO UES head causes serious concern about his life, Pasat's lawyer Georgy Amikhalakioae told RIA Novosti.
"Valery Pasat's health condition and the conditions of his detention cause serious concerns about the life of my client," the layer said over the phone.
According to the lawyer, "the defense is certain that some aspects of Pasat's trial violate basic human rights and contradict European models of justice."
"The three-month detention of a state figure, who does not pose any threat to society is a good example of such violations. The conditions of his detention are such that they provoke serious deterioration of chronic diseases my client has," Georgy Amikhalakioae stated.
He said, "Passat is held in a basement, in an isolation cell that does not have a window and basic facilities."
"His health is quickly deteriorating. Meanwhile, despite numerous appeals of the defense, the authorities refuse to transfer him to a hospital. In addition, they apply heavy psychological pressure on my client," the lawyer stressed.
He said, after the first preliminary hearing on Valery Pasat's case, which took place on May 17, 2005, "the beginning of the trial was set for June 27 this year."
"At the same time, my client was denied the possibility of a different form preventive punishment rather than imprisonment," the lawyer emphasized.
In his opinion, the developments of the last three months "clearly show the existence of political reasons for Pasat's trial."
Pasat was arrested in Cisinau on March 11, 2005 on charges of exceeding the limitations of his executive power, which led to a MIG-29 sales deal in 1997 when Pasat occupied the post of Moldova's defense minister. The prosecution estimates the harm caused by this deal in the amount of $53 million.
Later, he was charged with abuse of authority as a state official. Moldova's Prosecutor General's office insists that Pasat, being the defense minister, conducted through an intermediary foreign firm a deal on the sales of Uragan multiple-launch rocket systems and ammunition at discounted prices. The prosecution estimates the material damages caused by this deal at $1.8 million.
Moldova's Prosecutor General's office denies the existence of any political motives in this case.
