The Chișinău Court, Rîșcani District Office, dismissed as unfounded a lawsuit filed by former Socialist MP Nicolae Pascaru against RISE Moldova on Thursday, 22 October. The case concerned a journalistic investigation published in September 2025. The court ordered the plaintiff to pay the newsroom 3,600 Moldovan lei in legal costs. RISE Moldova had described the lawsuit as an attempt to intimidate journalists through SLAPP proceedings (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation – a legal action intended to discourage public participation, editor’s note).
According to the operative part of the judgment, the court dismissed Nicolae Pascaru’s claims in their entirety, including those concerning the protection of honour and dignity, compensation for non-pecuniary damage and reimbursement of legal costs. At the same time, it granted RISE Moldova’s request to recover legal costs amounting to 3,600 lei.
The lawsuit concerned the investigation “Centru pentru tineri, devenit casă de lux la Orheiul Vechi”, published by RISE Moldova on 20 September 2025, during the campaign for the 28 September parliamentary elections.
In his lawsuit, the former Socialist MP, who was a candidate in the 2025 parliamentary elections, sought a court order requiring the newsroom to retract several passages from the investigation, both on its website and across all RISE Moldova social media platforms. He also sought one Moldovan leu in compensation for non-pecuniary damage and reimbursement of legal costs.
Earlier, during the pre-litigation stage, Nicolae Pascaru had threatened the newsroom with a claim for damages over alleged electoral losses caused by the publication of the investigation. In a statement released ahead of the elections, RISE Moldova reported that the politician claimed the investigation could reduce the number of votes he received and, consequently, the number of parliamentary seats won and the public funding allocated to his party.
The newsroom rejected the allegations at the time and denounced the legal action as an attempt to intimidate journalists ahead of the elections. The case also drew the attention of the international Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which highlighted the pressure exerted on its media partner in the Republic of Moldova.
RISE Moldova received legal assistance in the case through a programme run by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) and was represented by lawyer Nicoleta Boico.
“For me, this decision was foreseeable. The investigation was based on documents and rigorous fact-checking, addressing a matter of clear public interest,” the lawyer commented.
She also emphasised the impact such lawsuits can have on newsrooms: “Unfortunately, the newsroom had to go through months of legal proceedings to defend itself in court against an unfounded allegation.”
The judgment of the Chișinău Court may be appealed to the Court of Appeal within 30 days of the pronouncement of its operative part.