On April 07, we consign a sad anniversary – 10 years of protests of Chisinau. The capital of Moldova became the arena of some violence beyond example, devastation of some important state edifices and some serious violations of human rights and freedoms: right to safety of person, physical and mental integrity, freedom of assembly, right to freedom to opinion and expression. Thousands of young persons were apprehended and supposed to maltreatment. 

In the context of 10 years of the events of April 07, 2009, People’s Advocate, Mihail Cotorobai, notes with regret that the lesson of one decade ago wasn’t fully taught, even if the authorities have undertaken several actions of legislative and institutional order.  

In 2010 it was instituted the Section of torture fighting within the General Prosecutor’s Office, territorial prosecutor’s offices being appointed prosecutors, responsible for investigating the torture cases. In 2012 the offence of torture and maltreatment was reflected in a new article – 166/¹ of Criminal code. There were established criminal punishments for inhuman and degrading treatment and the criminal sanctions for torture actions were significantly tightened without the possibility to apply amnesty for this type of offences. It was instituted the express obligation to introduce in the protocol of apprehension the physical condition of person taken under custody, claims, objections, doctor access, especially the immediate informing of prosecutor. Any apprehended person is supposed immediately to confidential medical investigation when entering and exiting of isolator.

Number of claims addressed to Prosecutor’s Office on cases of torture application was significantly decreased of 992 in 2009 to 639 in 2017. Number of claims on this subject for the People’s Advocate was also decreased.

Case of Andrei Braguta also demonstrated that in the Republic of Moldova there are no guarantees that people who are taken under the custody of the state will not be supposed to torture cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments and treatments. In a Special Report on case of Braguta Andrei, People’s Advocate mentioned the fact that from the moment he was apprehended by the police staff up to his placement in the penitentiary institutions there were totally/partially violated the minimum guarantees against maltreatment (CPT norms) and violated the human dignity of this person.

Deriving of the conclusions of Special report of Ombudsman on the results of taking notice ex officio about the case of death into the state custody of the citizen, Andrei Braguta, the Ombudsman initiated an extensive monitoring of decisional process on applying apprehension; apprehension of person by police; transportation and escorting the apprehended person as well as the mechanism on placing into custody of apprehended persons. The conclusions of this monitoring will soon made public.  

People’s Advocate warned several times about the problem of exaggerated use by the Moldovan authorities of custody on remand measure. Mihail Cotorobai reiterates in this context that custody on remand should be an exception of the right to freedom and safety and to be applied in cases when there are clear evidences, accompanied by arguments, which would confirm with certitude the probability of actions committing by the suspects.     

Speaking about the freedom to assembly, it was broadly respected in the period after the protests of April 7, 2009. But the recent events and those of the last years denote also the fact that at this chapter there are some problems, as would be the application of some disproportioned measures toward the participants to some protest actions, obstructing access of some journalists to public actions, creating impediments to persons of rural localities for coming and participating to the protests organized by the opposition party.   

Anticipating some events with public character or protest actions, People’s Advocate constantly advices the participants, authorities, representatives of law enforcement to correctness and respect of democratic principles. With the occasion of 10 years of events of April 7, 2009, Mihail Cotorobai reminds that the democratic principles suppose rules which follow to be respected by both parties, the citizens and authorities. They should consider the fact that when protesting, the citizens warn the power that they do not agree with the actions of authorities or that it didn’t considered their will, interests and aspirations. Right to personal safety, physical, mental integrity, freedom of assembly, right to freedom of opinion and expression are indissolubly to democratic processes and they cannot be accepted in any way by derogations, except those expressly provided by law and international standards.  

Mihail Cotorobai considers that Moldovan authorities still have to liquidate the arrears at the chapter on political and civil rights and he comes with the urge for them for acting so that the democracy being a protected value in our country.