Amnesty International Report 2003 - Moldova

Covering events from January - December 2002

REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
Head of state: Vladimir Voronin
Head of government: Vasile Tarlev
Death penalty: abolitionist for all crimes
International Criminal Court: not signed

Some demonstrators in the capital Chi§inäu were arbitrarily arrested and harassed by the police. An opposition leader was abducted and released after two months; the investigation into the identity of his abductors produced no results. Torture and ill-treatment by police continued to be reported. Conditions of detention in most police lock-ups and many prisons amounted to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. At least three political prisoners remained imprisoned in the self-proclaimed Dnestr Moldavian Republic (DMR).

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Anti-government demonstrations

From 9 January to 29 April tens of thousands of students, school children and some opposition parties organized almost daily street demonstrations in Chiºinãu against government plans to reintroduce the teaching of Russian language and history. In February the government announced a moratorium on its plans, but when the protests continued to call for the government to resign, judicial proceedings were initiated to ban the demonstrations and to prosecute Christian Democratic People's Party (CDPP) members of parliament. Walter Schwimmer, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, under Article 52 of the European Convention on Human Rights, requested an explanation from the Moldovan authorities about the decision to temporarily suspend the CDPP and about other measures that were contrary to basic articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, such as the rights to freedom of association, assembly and expression.

There were no reports that excessive force was used against the demonstrators, but some participants, including minors, were harassed and intimidated.

• During the demonstrations, police arrested six youths, including three minors, and held them in a police station for six hours. The youths were held in a room without electricity and were denied the right to contact their parents or a lawyer. They were questioned by a police inspector who reportedly threatened and insulted them and warned them not to participate in demonstrations. The police reportedly stated that the youths had been arrested and questioned because they attempted to "mobilize students from the State University of Moldova for participation in illegal protests". They were subsequently charged with a misdemeanour under the administrative procedure.
• In March Vlad Cubreacov, a CDPP leader, was abducted from outside his home. He was released in May by men whose identity was not established by a subsequent investigation. The prosecutor in charge of the investigation was suspended in August and then dismissed in September for alleged "internal violations".

On 24 April the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe called on Moldovan political forces to pursue a constructive dialogue and requested the authorities to adopt a number of measures as a matter of urgency. It called for a simultaneous moratorium by the CDPP of its demonstrations and the suspension of criminal proceedings against two CDPP leaders; an extension of the existing moratorium on the reforms concerning the teaching and status of the Russian language, and changes to the history curriculum; and the revision of radio and television legislation and amendment of the status of broadcasting station Teleradio Moldova to make it an independent public corporation. The Council of Europe also offered assistance concerning the investigation into the abduction of Vlad Cubreacov.

Torture and ill-treatment and conditions in detention

In June the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) published its report on its visit to Moldova in June 2001. In the course of its visit the CPT asked the authorities to immediately initiate a thorough and independent investigation into methods used by the police to interrogate detainees; to provide, regardless of the state's economic capacities, to all detainees in police establishments adequate drinking water, food and sanitation; and to immediately take out of service an unfurnished cell in the police lock-up in Comrat measuring only 1.25m x 1.25m.

The CPT received numerous allegations that men, women and children who had been arrested by the police suffered physical ill-treatment, which in many cases was considered to amount to torture. This occurred mainly during questioning by the police. A number of victims examined by CPT forensic experts bore injuries which were consistent with the allegations of torture. The CPT reiterated its extensive recommendations, first issued after its 1998 visit, regarding safeguards to prevent torture and ill-treatment.

The Moldovan Helsinki Committee, a local non-governmental organization that visited 13 police stations during the year, reported that some local authorities had improved living conditions for detainees. However, no progress was observed with regard to police malpractices, including those that amounted to torture and ill-treatment.

Political prisoners in the self-proclaimed Dnestr Moldavian Republic

Alexandru Leşco, Andrei Ivanþoc and Tudor Petrov-Popa, who had been convicted of "terrorist acts" in 1993 by a court in the DMR in the trial of the so-called "Tiraspol Six", remained in prison. In September the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights decided that a delegation of four judges should carry out an on-the-spot investigation into the case and that the parties would be asked to provide further clarification.

The first and best known applicant, Ilie Ilaşcu, who was released in 2001, had complained that their right to a fair trial had been violated in the proceedings which led to their conviction in 1993; that their detention since then was unlawful; and that their conditions of detention amounted to inhuman or degrading treatment. The applicants argued that the Moldovan authorities were responsible under the European Convention on Human Rights for the alleged violations of their rights since they had not taken adequate measures to stop them. They also argued that this responsibility was shared by the Russian Federation as the territory of Transdniestria was de facto under Russia's control owing to the stationing of its troops there and its alleged support of the separatist regime.

No significant progress was reported in the negotiations between the Moldovan government and the DMR authorities on the status of the breakaway region. In October representatives of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Moldova reportedly stated that the withdrawal of Russian troops, arms and ammunition from the region would not be completed by the end of the year, the second deadline stipulated at the 1999 OSCE Istanbul Summit.

Human Rights Committee

In July the UN Human Rights Committee considered Moldova's initial report on compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee questioned the delay in submission (the report was due in 1994); the fact that "an extensive number of questions remained wholly or partly unanswered at the conclusion of its discussion with the State Party"; and that more detailed information on the situation in the Transdniestrian region had not been provided. The Committee welcomed Moldova's abolition of the death penalty and invited Moldova to accede to the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.

The Committee expressed its concern about conditions in detention facilities and the prevalence of disease, notably tuberculosis. The Committee was concerned about the length of time before a suspect is brought before a judge; about prolonged pre-trial detention; and the apparently frequent administrative detention for significant periods of people described as "vagrants". The Committee also expressed concern about other provisions of Moldovan laws that undermine the independence and impartiality of the judiciary; impede the exercise of the right to religious freedom; and restrict the rights to freedom of assembly and association.