Moldova’s Prosecutor General’s Office has launched a review into threats allegedly made against journalists from NordNews by former director of the Balti Clinical Hospital Gheorghe Brinza, more than a year after the first intimidating messages were sent.
The move comes after the Independent Journalism Center and several media organizations called on the authorities to investigate the case.
The Prosecutor General’s Office has referred the complaint to the National Police, which will examine the circumstances and establish all relevant details.
The case dates back to February 2025, when NordNews journalists published a report about a possible conflict of interest involving Gheorghe Brinza and the employment of his father-in-law at the Balti Clinical Hospital.
On February 25, 2025, the author of the investigation and another journalist from the newsroom received calls and messages from the former hospital director. In a voice message retained by the newsroom, Brinza allegedly threatened the journalists with “revenge” if his father-in-law experienced health problems.
According to the Legal Resources Centre of Moldova, the incident was included in its 2025 report on attacks against civil society and the media. The report states that the journalists received aggressive calls and messages after publishing the investigation, while NordNews reported the incident to the Balti Police Inspectorate.
Despite the threats, the journalists continued to investigate the former hospital director’s activities. NordNews subsequently published reports concerning his work, the hospital’s procurement procedures, the family’s assets and legal cases involving him.
In August 2025, Brinza was detained by officers of Moldova’s National Anticorruption Center. He was later sent to trial in a case in which he is charged with passive corruption.
Brinza denies the allegations against him.