The so-called Investigative Committee in Tiraspol has issued its first statements on the death of Transnistrian communist leader Oleg Horjan, announcing that a criminal case has been opened. According to them, it could be a “murder with robbery intent”.

According to the source, on the morning of 17 July, his body, with signs of violent death, was found by his ex-wife in the office of a private house in the village of Sucleia. During the preliminary examination, the forensic expert found multiple wounds in the neck and back area, as well as several injuries, probably caused by several blows with a hard object in the head area.

At the same time, the so-called Investigative Committee writes that the safe in Horjan’s office was open and empty. One of the versions is therefore murder for the purpose of robbery.

The data they provide are completely different from those declared by the Moldovan police, who had previously announced that Horjan Oleg was found shot dead in his own home in a village near Tiraspol.

Oleg Horjan, leader of the Communists in the Transnistrian region, was found shot dead in his home. The information was confirmed for the Guard newspaper by Diana Fetco, head of the Communication and Protocol Section of the General Police Inspectorate (IGP).

In 2018, Oleg Horjan was sentenced by the alleged Transnistrian courts to a punishment in the form of deprivation of liberty for a term of 4 years and 6 months in Hlinaia Penitentiary for “violent actions against a public person/representative of power”. The reason for Oleg Horjan’s arrest was the holding of the public meeting on 2 June 2018 and his subsequent actions to defend the interests of the group of participants who were in illegal detention of the militia in the Transnistrian region following a peaceful protest.

In 2020, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic of Moldova (SCJ) found that as a result of Oleg Horjan’s conviction by “courts of law” that were not constituted in accordance with the law and that illegally assumed powers of dispensing justice in the Transnistrian region, he was deprived of the right to a fair trial provided by law, Promo-Lex Association announced in a press release.

On 23 July 2020, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic of Moldova made public its decision declaring the “Supreme Court of the RMN” judgment of 2 November 2018 (details here) and the decision of the “Appeals College of the Supreme Court of the RMN” of 28 December 2018 in the criminal case against Horjan Oleg as unconstitutional decisions adopted by bodies (details here).

In December 2022, Oleg Horjan was released from illegal detention. The information was confirmed at that time for Ziarul de Gardă by Pavel Cazacu, a lawyer at Promo-LEX Association.