On 23 August 2011, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decided to apply the urgency procedure to the case of Eriomenco v. Moldova and the Russian Federation, application no.42224∕11 lodged with the Court on 1 July 2011 by lawyers of the human rights organization Promo-LEX.

Vitalie Eriomenco is a businessman from the town of Slobodzia in the Transnistrian region, who was arrested on 29 March 2011 by a law enforcement agency of the unrecognized republic. During his detention, the victim has been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment in private detention facilities in the Transnistrian region. He has been kept for several months in a humid cell, without ventilation, adequate sunlight or access to sanitation, without drinking water, and infested with lice, bedbugs and cockroaches. Detention in such conditions has led to the worsening of his chronic illnesses, including high blood pressure, heart block and respiratory distress. Also, because of the poor conditions of detention, his prostatitis and duodenal ulcer has worsened so much that they give him unbearable pains. In three months, Mr. Eriomenco’s health has declined badly. He lost 5 kg in just 18 days, because the food there is unpalatable. He is also denied medical assistance. For his release, investigators requested $1 million from his family to serve as a compensation for damages allegedly caused to a person. Further, Vitalie Eriomenco was fraudulently dispossessed of shares in the companies he administrated. Moreover, the home he owned was seized and his family evicted.

The applicant complained to the ECtHR that the defendant States violated Arts. 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 17, 34 and Art.1 of Protocol 1 to the European Convention.

For further details, please contact Alexandru Postica, Promo-LEX Association’s Legal Department: Phone: (22) 21 16 22, GSM: 0691 04 851, e-mail: [email protected]