On 21 April 2015, the European Court for Human Rights pronounced a decision in the case of Vadim Pisari, the young man who was killed by a soldier from the Russian peacekeeping mission, on 1 January 2012, on the bridge near Vadul lui Vodă.

The ECtHR found a violation of Article 2 of the European Convention – the right to life – in essence and by procedure. The Court found that there was no urgent need to allow the Russian soldier to use lethal force. The Court also found that the Russian authorities had failed to conduct an adequate investigation into the death of Vadim Pisari. The authorities of the Russian Federation repeatedly refused to admit the victim’s parents as plaintiffs in this case, which, in the opinion of the Court, is sufficient grounds to establish a violation of the respective Article.

The Russian Federation shall pay the applicants – the parents of Vadim Pisari – compensation for moral damages in the amount of 35,000 Euros, and 5,580 Euros in costs and expenses for legal representation.

“An issue that arises from the incident on 1 January 2012 is that the location of peacekeeping posts shall be revised so as they be located in areas where their presence is actually needed. Thus, having a peacekeeping post at the entrance to the Chisinau municipium is unfortunate, as that location is close to various military sites in the region,” says Alexandru Postica, lawyer, Human Rights Program Director, the Promo-LEX Association.

The full text of the decision may be found on the ECtHR website, http://www.echr.coe.int/

The applicants in the case were represented by counsels and lawyers from the Promo-LEX Association.

For more details, contact: Alexandru Postica, Human Rights Program Director, the Promo-LEX Association, Defense Attorney, tel: (22) 450024, GSM: 069104851, email: [email protected]