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Today (November 22, 2016) the judges of the Chișinău Court of Appeals returned a verdict in the case of Victoria Pruteanu, a victim of domestic violence from Străseni who supports 4 minors. The magistrates denied the prosecution’s appeal and partially granted the appeal of Victoria Pruteanu’s lawyers regarding sentencing. The appeals court upheld the sentence of the Strășeni court (which had sentenced Victoria to three years and eight months in prison), but the sentence will be suspended until her children are 8 years old. The time Victoria has already served under house arrest – more than 2 years – will count toward the sentence, meaning she will only serve one year and six months. The Promo-LEX lawyer Vadim Vieru, who represented Victoria Pruteanu at the appeals court, declared that he will appeal the decision of the Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court of Justice and that he will insist Victoria Pruteanu be acquitted.

In addition, the Promo-LEX legal expert Lilia Potâng said that decision of the Chișinău Court of Appeals has several positive aspects, including an interlocutory statement from the Chișinău Court of Appeals relating to local social workers and police officers and the lack of protection for victims of domestic violence.

The Promo-LEX Association has assisted with the case of Victoria Pruteanu since June 2015, as it is a representative case for the Republic of Moldova and reveals gaps in the system for defending victims of domestic violence. We have found that state institutions have increased the pace of reform and implemented legislation to protect victims since civil society and the mass media have begun paying attention to and getting involved in cases of domestic violence. Therefore, the Promo-LEX Association would like to thank everyone who has been involved in the Victoria Pruteanu case, as well as in other cases of domestic violence.

We repeat that Victoria Pruteanu was subjected to domestic violence by her husband throughout her years of marriage. Although she sought help from the authorities, Victoria was not protected from her abuser. A protection order was issued in August 2014, but the order was not carried out and Victoria remained in danger. Her aggressive husband violated the order repeatedly, but the authorities failed to give Victoria any real protection. The authorities knew that acts of violence were committed against her and her children, but the police punished her abusive husband only lightly. On the evening of December 14, 2014, Victoria defended herself against a renewed attack by her aggressive husband. During the confrontation that followed, her husband died. Victoria Pruteanu supports 4 children and is part of a socially vulnerable family.

Other details about this case are available here.

Images and statements from the hearing can be seen here.

For more details, contact: Tatiana Pașcovschi, Press Officer at the Promo-LEX Association: GSM 060804022, e-mail: [email protected].