Amnesty International reveals widespread torture in Moldova; calls for "urgent measures"

Activists from Amnesty International taking part in a protest demonstration and candle-light vigil for human rights

CHISINAU (Tiraspol Times) - Urgent measures are needed to stop torture or other ill-treatment in Moldova, warns a new human rights report. Torture and ill-treatment in Moldova remain widespread and systemic, says Amnesty International in its latest report. The reported is titled Moldova: Torture and ill-treatment: "It's just normal" and uses direct quotes from prisoners who suffered daily torture at the hands of Moldova's Communist-ruled authorities.

" - Beatings and abuse of detainees remain the norm. Channels for seeking redress stay blocked. Lack of transparency breeds impunity," says Heather McGill, Amnesty International's researcher on Moldova.

" - The fact that since 2005 the European Court of Human Rights has found in eight judgments that Moldova has violated the right to be free from torture and ill-treatment, including four which were handed down in 2007, illustrates the need for quick and resolute measures," she added.

One of the torture cases which is reported took place in May 2007. The female victim, Viorica Plate, remembers how Moldovan police abused her on the floor of Chisinau's Botanica police station.

" - One of them grabbed my hair and started to punch me on the head. He said: ‘I swear that I will torture you’. I thought he was just trying to scare me. We went into an office. I sat down. One of them took out a gas mask and some rags and said ‘tell us where the money is or we will put a gas mask on you. We have already used this on somebody with TB and you will be infected.’ He took the handcuffs off and told me to lie on the floor," Viorica told Amnesty International.

" - He put the gas mask on me and started to beat me on the soles of my feet – I started to cry and they closed the air vent on the gas mask. I fainted and they splashed me with water. They brought out a metal pipe and tied my hands to this pipe behind my back, and they put chairs on a table and hung me between the chairs. They continued to beat me through my shoes."

Daily beatings crippled victim

Twenty-eight-year old Sergei Gurgurov was beaten every day from 25 October until 3 November 2005. During this time, he was taken twice daily - noon and evening - to the second floor of the police headquarters where he was tortured. Police officers beat him on the spine and applied electric shocks to his body. Sergei Gurgurov has been left disabled by the torture and ill-treatment he suffered at the hands of police.

Another case involves a prisoner codenamed "A.B." who was beaten by three officers from Moldova's Internal Security Department. One officer used handcuffs to beat him, and another officer beat him with a rubber torch. The officers were allegedly assisted by the detention centre's medical assistant who held his legs, and then expressed regret that the electric shock machine was not working. "A.B." refused to give false testimony against a friend and was held in police detention from 25 February to 17 July 2006, and accused of theft. He told Amnesty International: "It is just normal to be beaten by the police."

No reports in past seven years from Transdniestria

Amnesty International is concerned that judges are not doing what they can to protect detainees and to prevent them from being tortured. The group also reveals that the Prosecutor General's Office turns a blind eye to acts of torture. It creates impunity and basically allows the regime's torturers to operate above the law. "Many perpetrators of torture and ill-treatment are not brought to justice and victims remain without redress and reparation," says the human rights organization.

" - Policing needs to change so that it is based on principles of legality, human rights and social justice, breaking the mould of investigations heavily reliant on confessions. Otherwise, old practices of using torture and other ill-treatment will persist," Heather McGill said.

The latest Amnesty International report does not include a single case from Transdniestria or any criticism of the human rights record of the Transdniestrian government. Amnesty International states that, for a variety of reasons, it has no recent reports of torture or ill-treatment in Transdniestria. The last reported information is seven years old, when a visiting Committee repeated allegations of ill-treatment by police of persons in custody. Following the claims from 2000, the situation has improved significantly in Transdniestria and there have been no further accusations of ill-treatment. On one bank of the Dniester river, in Transdniestria, the situation has gotten significantly better. On the other bank, in Moldova, a police state is being created which resorts to torture as a normal way of enforcing its rule.

See also:
» Increase in torture cases in Moldova leaves human rights groups powerless
» Torture victims in Moldova jail cells
» European Court of Human Rights finds Moldova guilty in new torture case

On the web:
» Moldova: Model to follow ... or human rights disaster?
» Moldova: Torture and ill-treatment: "It's just normal"