Radu Marian faces defamation claim threat
The conflict between PAS and the Democracy at Home party, which erupted amid the elections in Orhei, has taken a new turn.
Alexandr Vershinin, an MP from Democracy at Home, has called on PAS deputy Radu Marian to take responsibility for statements he says damaged his reputation during the plenary session on May 7.
That day, after the Orhei court returned Democracy at Home candidate Victor Perțu to the mayoral race, Marian reacted sharply from the parliamentary rostrum.
He claimed that Vershinin had “tried to sell gas through Ilan Shor and deceive everyone”. No evidence was presented to support the allegation.
Vershinin says immunity does not allow false claims
Vershinin now plans to file a civil lawsuit against the deputy. He argues that parliamentary immunity does not give MPs the right to spread false information.
Under the procedure cited by Vershinin, a retraction of defamatory remarks should be published by Marian within 15 days after the preliminary complaint is reviewed.
If no retraction follows, Vershinin says he will use “all legal and parliamentary mechanisms to protect his honour, dignity and business reputation, including appeals to the competent parliamentary bodies over a possible breach of parliamentary ethics”.
Whether Marian will face real consequences for his words remains unclear. But the scandal is unlikely to help PAS, especially if the claims made from the parliamentary rostrum cannot be backed by documents.
