Electoral influence through mobile phones provided during electoral meetings

At a meeting organized in the village of Jevreni, Criuleni district, Tîrgola Maria and Asmar Svetlana, in co-authorship and by prior agreement, gave five Xiaomi Redmi A3 mobile phones, valued at 1,899 lei each, to some voters, with the aim of determining them to vote against the amendment of the Constitution regarding the Republic of Moldova's accession to the EU and in favor of the candidate promoted by the political bloc "Victory" in the presidential elections on 20.10.2024.

Other property measures: 5 Xiaomi Redmi A3 mobile phones forcibly and free of charge transferred to the state account;

First instance: Conviction
Appeal: The defender's appeal was dismissed as unfounded, maintaining the sentence of the first instance
Review: Not applicable / unknown

Relevant case for the qualification of mobile phones as “assets” provided for electoral purposes. The court noted the formal nature of the offense and considered the moment of the transfer of assets sufficient. Central evidence: testimonies of witnesses who received the phones, confrontations, seizure/examination of the 5 phones, and establishment of the market price. Evidentiary observation: the defense argued that the phones were given to activists for photos/reporting and were to be returned, but the court rejected this version as witnesses indicated they received them as electoral gifts.