After the results of the
April 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election were announced, he was a peaceful participant at the protest. Boboc arrived in the Square after 5.00 p.m., when the
presidential and
parliament buildings were being ravaged. Following his arrest,
Valeriu Boboc died in a Chișinău hospital on 8 April 2009. Boboc was pronounced dead in the early hours of April 8 at a Chisinau hospital. The official cause of death was given as inhalation of poisonous gas. His case was reopened after the current ruling coalition won elections in July. The police declared he died of smoke inhalation from the riot, but his family claims that he was beaten to death by the police, his body being full of contusions. Damian Hancu, the man who witnessed the death of Valeriu Boboc, declared he could identify the policemen who beat him and Boboc. "It was around 2 AM. We've heard an information on the radio that someone had found a person with a bullet wound in the Cathedral Square. That was the initial version regarding Valeriu Boboc's death", declared former vice-minister of Internal Affairs,
Ghenadie Coșovan. He was surprised about the first declarations made by former minister of Health
Larisa Catrinici, that Valeriu Boboc has died due to intoxication, said Ghenadie Coșovan. The body of Valeriu Boboc was handed to the relatives by the police on April 12 and was buried on the same day.
Dorin Chirtoacă, the
mayor of Chișinău and vice-president of the
Liberal Party, attended Boboc's funerals. The
opposition parties subsequently used his death as an important subject during the
July 2009 electoral campaign. The police declared he was found dead in the Great National Assembly Square. According to the official investigation, he died of inhaling a toxic gas, his death certificate stating as cause "poisoning with an unknown substance". The Boboc family and the lawyers disputed this, claiming instead that the young man was beaten to death while in custody. Moldova's
Attorney General however noted that the bruises and bleeding traces on Boboc's body were not a cause of his death. The body of Valeriu Boboc was exhumed at the cemetery of
Bubuieci on June 15, 2009, for further investigations. During a protest gathering around 3,000 in the city's central square on April 12, 2009,
Dorin Chirtoacă called for a moment of silence in memory of Valeriu Boboc. On April 12, the spokeswoman of the Interior Ministry, Ala Meleca, has denied media reports blaming the police for the death of Boboc.
Ministry of Internal Affairs (Moldova) released a statement on April 12, 2009, saying an autopsy showed that Boboc had a broken rib, but that his death had not been caused by the injury. "Doctors think that the young man was poisoned by unknown substances," the statement said. "Prosecutors are ready for an international probe in order to exclude other interpretations of this fact." "In connection with the multiple rumors related to the death of the citizen Valeriu Boboc, the Press Service of the Prosecutor Office is in right to inform the following. On April 8, at 1.15 am, V. Boboc died on his way to the Emergency Hospital. According to the results of the autopsy, the body injuries and namely a broken rib have no causative connection with the cause of death. According to the doctors, he was subject to intoxication with an unknown substance. In order to exclude any doubts related to the cause of death, the prosecutors are ready to call an international expertise." A silent protest was held in
Dublin city centre on April 13, 2009, in memory of Valeriu Boboc. An open letter from the mayor of Chișinău, Dorin Chirtoacă, circulated on 14 April showed disturbing photos of Valeriu Boboc. On April 17, 2009,
Amnesty International wrote: "Valeriu Boboc reportedly died during the demonstrations on 7 April. There are conflicting reports as to the cause of his death. The General Prosecutor's Office has reported that his death was due to poisoning with unknown substances, while his family allege that he died as a result of injuries inflicted by the police." One day after a member of the Institute for Human Rights, an NGO that assisted victims of torture, had called a London-based pathologist seeking assistance in investigating the death of Valeriu Boboc, the prosecutor's office called Boboc's father and promised to bring in the same pathologist to investigate the case. That is an evidence that his phone was tapped. On June 22, 2009, "
Amnesty International welcomes the fact that the Moldovan authorities have invited an international forensic expert to take part in the autopsy of Valeriu Boboc, who died during the demonstrations on 7 April under disputed circumstances, but calls on the authorities to ensure that all cases of alleged police ill-treatment are promptly, independently, impartially and thoroughly investigated and that anyone reasonably identified as responsible is brought to justice, in accordance with Moldova's obligations under
international human rights law." Even if Professor John Pounder Derrik presented on June 29, 2009, to the Prosecutor Ion Matiușenco his report, the access of the lawyers to it was delayed. On July 24, 2009, the Prosecutor General Valeriu Gurbulea said no policeman who maltreated protesters had been identified yet. Neither is it known who killed Boboc. One of the reasons is that policemen were wearing masks. Two days after
July 2009 election, Ion Matiușenco, the prosecutor investigating Boboc's case, resigned on July 31 and was replaced by another prosecutor. But at year's end there were no further developments in the case. After December 2009, Dragoș Boboc, Valeriu Boboc's son, will monthly receive 1000 lei from
Mihai Ghimpu's salary. This action will continue as long as his interim mandate of
acting President of Moldova is valid. On October 2, 2009, the Prosecutor General Valeriu Gurbulea resigned. "Foreign and national experts determined the death was as a result of injuries caused to Valeriu Boboc and not caused by an unknown, poisoning gas, as was said immediately after the tragedy," said the new Prosecutor General
Valeriu Zubco in January 2010. "We can say without exaggeration that Valeriu Boboc's death is on the consciousness of
Vladimir Filat and his comrades" wrote on April 2, 2010
Iurie Roșca, a deputy president of Parliament during the riots. More information appeared one year after the April events, on Valeriu Boboc's death. Dorin Chirtoacă, the mayor of Chisinau, declared on March 23, 2010, that he has certain information on the abuses of April 7 from one source inside the Minister of Interior Affairs. Almost 60 policemen, dressed as civilians, received an order from the present police commissar, Serghei Cociorva, to arrest those who were between the Puskin street and the Parliament", said Chirtoaca. On April 5, 2010, acting President
Mihai Ghimpu and Chisinau Mayor
Dorin Chirtoacă showed journalists a videotape of 2009 protests. In one scene on the videotape, several men are shown kicking what appears to be an unconscious man lying on the pavement in Chisinau's main square. Ghimpu and Chirtoaca said the assailants were policemen in plain clothes and the man they were attacking was Boboc. A year after Boboc's death,
General Prosecutor's office announced on April 6, 2010, that they arrested the supposed murderer, a collaborator of the General Police Commissariat. The Moldovan prosecutor's office announced on April 7, 2010, that
Ion Perju has been charged with killing 27-year-old Valeriu Boboc on April 7, 2009. Moldovan Interior Minister
Victor Catan confirmed the arrest and he said more arrests will follow, but did not elaborate. On the death of the citizen Valeriu Boboc, criminal proceedings were initiated under Article 151 paragraph (4) and Article 328 paragraph (3) point d) of the Criminal Code. The initiative regarding founding the Prize "Valeriu Boboc" for the liberty of press and defending of democratic values was launched on April 19, 2010, by the Romanian senator
Mihaela Popa. She said in front of the Senate that "April 7 events opened the way of Moldova to Europe and Boboc is no longer just a name, but a symbol of struggle for democratic values and freedom of expression." The memorandum regarding founding the Prize "Valeriu Boboc" for the liberty of press and defending of democratic values was adopted on April 30, 2010, by the permanent bureau of the
Romanian Senate. On June 9, 2010, the Buiucani district court released former deputy police commissioner Iacob Gumeniță from home arrest and allowing him to be 'investigated at liberty' with respect to his role in the events of April 7 / 8 2009. As of November 2010, the case is still ongoing. Former Interior Minister
Gheorghe Papuc and former police commissioner general, Vladimir Botnari – accused by prosecutors of misconduct in office during the events of April 2009 that killed young Boboc – were acquitted on December 29, 2011. == Awards ==