[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 87 (Thursday, June 29, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1336]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THE CASE OF VALERIU PASAT

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 29, 2006

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, following the collapse of the 
Soviet Union when there were virtual open-air arms bazaars taking place 
across the territory of the former USSR, the United States Government 
purchased twenty-one fighter aircraft from the newly independent 
Republic of Moldova. The Moldovan official who negotiated this sale was 
then Defense Minister, Valeriu Pasat. This purchase was intended to 
keep these aircraft out of the hands of potentially hostile regimes.
  Just last year, Mr. Pasat was charged with malfeasance in connection 
with this transaction that occurred nearly a decade ago. Allegedly, the 
planes were worth more than the Moldovan Government received for them 
in the deal approved by Chisinau. In January of this year, Mr. Pasat 
was convicted by a secret tribunal and received a 10-year labor camp 
sentence. His sentence is now awaiting appeal. Mr. Pasat maintains that 
the charges against him are political and linked to his work with those 
who oppose Moldova's current communist government. To further 
complicate matters, he is reportedly in poor health and is rumored to 
be suffering from hepatitis--a potentially life-threatening condition. 
Last month, a team of Ukrainian doctors was reportedly denied 
permission to examine him.
  In response to the Pasat verdict, the U.S. Embassy in Chisinau issued 
a statement expressing disappointment and regret over the non-
transparent manner in which his trial was conducted, as well as the 
judge's refusal to admit sworn statements from former U.S. officials 
directly involved in the matter. Additionally, Mr. Speaker, the 
European Union recently passed a resolution calling upon the Moldovan 
authorities to ``ensure that the appeals process [in the Pasat case] 
will be allowed to proceed in a transparent fashion in accordance with 
international legal norms.'' While I make no presumption of Mr. Pasat's 
innocence or guilt, I share the concerns voiced by our Embassy and by 
the EU.
  As Vice Chairman of the House Committee on International Relations 
and Co-Chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, I am well aware of the 
difficulties Moldova has experienced on its path to democracy. I would 
also like to note the positive progress Moldova has made toward 
shedding its Soviet legacy and integration into the Euro-Atlantic 
community. This is why I am so troubled by the retrograde manner in 
which the Pasat trial has been conducted. It is critical that the 
Moldovan judicial system afford its citizens the basic legal 
protections common throughout the civilized world, such as due process, 
procedural transparency, and hearing the testimony of relevant 
witnesses. Moreover, Mr. Speaker, it is especial and urgent that the 
Moldovan authorities take all the necessary steps to protect the life 
and health of Mr. Pasat or any other prisoner of the state.

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