To the attention of the Government of the Republic of Moldova!

To the attention of Diaspora and other citizens with voting rights!

Today, September 19, 2018, the Government is to approve the opinion on the bill on special diaspora rights [1].

The Promo-LEX Association regrets that the proposed legal provisions with regard to facilitating the exercise of the electoral rights of persons living abroad are rejected.

We also draw attention to the superficial nature of the arguments put forward by the Government.

Promo-LEX is fully convinced that at least technical proposals can be accepted by the Government and voted by the Parliament[2], and the reason for completely rejecting them is not clear to us. In particular:

• voting outside the Republic of Moldova on the basis of identity cards and provisional identity cards, and, should this be the case, the analysis of the opportunity of voting with identity documents with an expired term;
• submitting online complaints by which the voters abroad would be able to report in an operative and effective manner the violations on the day of the elections;
• funding the work of political parties, initiative groups and electoral competitors by diaspora voters by setting, should it be the case, a reasonable maximum ceiling.

We believe that the position of the Government should be based on its mission to ensure the most active and wide inclusion of the citizens with the right to vote, especially of the under-represented categories, including those who, on the election day, are voting abroad.

The Promo-LEX Association is disappointed that the authorities of the state, in this case the Parliament and the Government, undermine the authority of the Constitutional Court by ignoring the execution of the Court’s addresses[3] made on the basis of the Decision[4] No. 34 of December 13, 2016 “regarding the confirmation of the election results and the validation of the mandate of the President of the Republic Moldova”.

Opinion on the Government’s draft opinion on the draft law on Diaspora Rights No. 217 of 27.06.2018

At its meeting on September 19, 2018, the Government is expected to approve the opinion on the draft law regarding the Special Rights of the Diaspora.

The Promo-LEX Association regrets that the provisions proposed to be included in the Electoral Code, which are intended to facilitate the exercise of electoral rights of persons living abroad, are rejected without substantiated arguments. In particular:

• the authors of the opinion find that the provision regarding the possibility of voting outside the Republic of Moldova on the basis of expired identity documents “does not correlate with point 12 of the SIAS Concept, approved by Law no. 101/2008”. The Promo-LEX Association notes with regret that, as the motivation to reject the proposal to amend the Election Code (organic law), serves the lack of a legal provision in a conception, approved by ordinary law. The lack of technical impediments has not led the authors of the opinion to support this proposal, the operation of the State Electoral Information System eliminating the risk of multiple voting.
• regarding the proposal on the exercise of the right to vote on the basis of identity cards and provisional identity cards, the authors of the opinion have not expressed their opinion. We underline that this proposal has been formulated on various occasions (conferences, seminars, congresses, etc.) by our countrymen permanently or temporarily living abroad as the main factor that would facilitate their presence on election day.
• regarding the provision on submitting online complaints, the authors of the opinion have not expressed their thoughts. Such a provision would allow voters who would vote abroad to promptly and effectively report the violations encountered during the day of elections. We remind that, during the presidential elections, the Constitutional Court found several deficiencies in the Electoral Code regarding the examination of the appeals, and pointed out that the procedure for examining the appeals formulated on the day of the elections (which couldn’t be filed to the Court on the same day) is not clear.
• concerning the provision regarding the possibility of financing the activity of political parties, initiative groups and electoral contestants by voters from the diaspora, the authors of the opinion mention the lack of correlation of the proposed norm with Art. 41 par. (1) of the Electoral Code. The provision included in the draft law is important, especially within the mixed electoral system, where the persons abroad will vote for the electoral candidate on a majoritarian constituency, established abroad. Taking into account that full electoral rights are guaranteed to voters, regardless of their place of residence, we believe that Moldovan citizens, who are permanently or temporarily residing abroad, should have the right to donate (support) a particular political party, initiative group or competitor, just as the citizens who are settled in the Republic of Moldova have the right to do, should it be the case, by setting a reasonable maximum ceiling.

Promo-LEX Association is disappointed that the authors have formulated a negative and critical opinion on the draft law No. 217 of 26.06.2018, invoking also financial reasons, a lack of usefulness of the proposed provisions, and inconsistencies with the legal norms of the Electoral Code or legal acts that have legal force inferior to the Electoral Code.

***
[1] https://gov.md/sites/default/files/document/attachments/intr09_166.pdf
[2] https://promolex.md/12871-opinia-promo-lex-asupra-proiectului-de-lege-pentru-modificarea-si-completarea-unor-acte-legislative-drepturile-speciale-ale-alegatorilor-din-diaspora-nr-217-din-26-06-2018/?lang=ro
[3] Two of the six addresses refer to the facilitation to exercise the right to vote for Moldovan citizens from abroad
[4] http://constcourt.md/ccdocview.php?tip=hotariri&docid=602&l=ro

For further information, please contact:
Inga Stegarescu, Promo-LEX Association Press Officer
GSM: 069269684
E-mail: [email protected]

The ECHR has obliged Russia to pay 53 thousand euros to the mother of Alexandru Stomatii, a young man, who had been forcedly conscripted and killed in an illegal paramilitary unit in the Transnistrian region.

Tuesday, September 18, 2018, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued a ruling finding that the Russian Federation had violated art. 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights on the right to life. The ECHR compelled the Russian Federation to pay the applicant moral damages in the amount of 50,000 euros  and 3,000 euros as costs and expenses (see the judgment here). By the same ruling, the ECHR established that the Republic of Moldova did not violate art. 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The decision of the ECHR once again acknowledges the tough reality the young people conscripted into the so-called “Transnistrian Army” face. Those who refuse to serve an illegal regime are chased and persecuted by the administration of the region, while Moldovan authorities are indifferent to this problem, which exists for more than 25 years.

The Penal Code of the Republic of Moldova criminalizes the organization or participation in an illegal paramilitary formation. Over the past 10 years, Promo-LEX has identified several cases of death in the “Transnistrian Army”. According to the Promo-LEX Report, the young men, who  avoid enlisting in the so-called “Transnistrian army” are imposed fines of up to 1 700 euros or face imprisonment of up to two years. In the history of Moldova, there is not a single conviction for forced conscription of young people in the Transnistrian region.

The armed forces of the Transnistrian region bring together about 5 thousand people (the national army of Moldova has a staff of about 6 thousand people), distributed among 4 infantry brigades (Ribnita, Dubasari, Tiraspol and Bender); a special purpose brigade; a battalion of tanks, equipped with 20 fighting machines; 18 missile launcher systems of the “Grad” type and less than a hundred pieces of artillery.

In 2009, Stomatii was forcibly conscripted into the illegal paramilitary structures in the Transnistrian region, and in 2010, he was killed. The Russian authorities did not respond to his mother’s requests, while the Moldovan authorities suspended the proceedings on the grounds that no one, who could be accused of murder, was identified.

For more details, please contact: Natalia Munteanu, Communications Officer. Mobile phone: 069437040; e-mail:   [email protected]

Signatory organizations are concerned about the way seven Turkish citizens have been detained and have to be expelled from the Republic of Moldova. Expulsion of these persons to Turkey denotes an imminent danger to lives and security of these persons and the risk that they will not benefit a fair trial.

In a press release issued in the morning of 6 September 2018, the  Security and Intelligence Service (SIS) informed on carrying out of a complex national security threat prevention operation in several localities in the country. The actions have been carried out by the SIS Antiterrorist Centre. In another press release, the SIS confirmed the declaration by the competent bodies as undesirable of seven foreign citizens suspected of relations with an Islamist group, about which there are clues that it is carrying illegal actions in many countries, who will be expelled from the territory of the Republic of Moldova. The press release makes reference to the fact that the actions of these citizens have been subject to monitoring for a period of time and, once the existence of the risk to national security has been confirmed, it has been decided that these persons should immediately leave the territory of the Republic of Moldova. The SIS has collaborated in this case with special services of other states. Finally, the SIS came up with a specifying statement stating that the information which appeared in the public space was completely false, that none of the seven persons was a minor, that the persons were not detained, but had been already expelled from the country.

The information available in mass-media reveals that the detained citizens are nationals of Turkish origin, among whom are the Deputy Director of “Orizont” Lyceum and other employees of the “Orizont” Lyceum network. They were requested to present their identification documents and the reason for their arrest was not explained to them. Among the detained persons was a minor of 16 years, who was released in an hour. At 14:00 it was not clear whether these persons were on the territory of the Republic of Moldova or were extradited.

This is a second attempt by the state institutions to expel the administration of “Orizont” Lyceum. In 2017 the Turkish authorities requested the closure of “Orizont” lyceums in the Republic of Moldova. On 31 March 2018, the director of the institution was detained and heard regarding some circumstances that were subject of a criminal case. The director of the lyceum, Turgay ŞEN, would have been suspected in a case that was started in November 2017 on the grounds of “terrorism financing”. The director of the lyceum has applied for asylum in the Republic of Moldova. At the same time, he considers that the criminal case was opened at the order of the leaders of the Republic of Moldova in the interest of the Turkish leadership in response to the financing of repair works of the Presidency building in the sum of over 10 million Euro, fully ensured by the Turkish Government. Several schools from other countries have been subject to similar actions on the grounds that they would have been supported by Fethullah Gulen. The latter is a former ally of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who lives in exile in the United States since the late 1990s and is accused by the leadership of Turkey of being behind the attempted coup d’état on 15 July 2016. The clergyman is at the head of a vast network of NGOs and schools around the world and has opened several educational institutions over the past decades.

The signatory organizations condemn the fact that the persons are detained without explaining the reason for their detention. It seems that the intention of the Moldovan authorities is to expel the detained persons to Turkey right now. Given that the detained persons have been in the Republic of Moldova for a long time, their expeditious and unannounced expulsion is not justified and betrays hidden political interests. The detained persons can be expelled only to Turkey, where they are most likely to face an unfair trial and an imminent danger of being tortured. We request the Moldovan authorities to consider seriously the real danger to which they might subject these persons in case of their expulsion to Turkey, to act in the spirit of the law, to allow proper judicial control of the expulsion decision and to ensure that their decisions are not influenced by political interests.

Signatory organizations:

• Legal Resources Centre from Moldova
• Promo-LEX Association

On 5 September 2018, the Promo-LEX Monitoring Mission (MM) issued its first monitoring report on public gatherings, held between 1 August and 31 August 2018. Promo-LEX MM found several violations, including: gatherings with elements of violence, preferential treatment of participants in public gatherings, unjustified limitation of public space for gatherings, abusive dispersion of participants, etc.

Elements of violence directed against peaceful persons

According to the information provided by the Promo-LEX observers, one of the meetings initiated by the supporters of the PPSor, on 5 August 2018, in the city of Orhei, lost its peaceful character as people resorted to physical attacks aimed at peaceful people, blocking them inside a shop.

Also, the public gatherings held in the Great National Assembly Square by the representatives of PPSor on 26 August 2018, were accompanied by numerous violations, such as breach of the law on assemblies without filing a prior application for it, promotion by the PPS representatives of messages that incite to violence and hatred. At the same time, journalists and a Promo-LEX observer, who tried to monitor the gathering, were physically abused during the event.

Unjustified intervention of law enforcement forces

The report examines the lawfulness of the directive no. 649-d of 24.08.2018 issued by the City Hall of the municipality of Chisinau. In this context, taking account of the fact that on 27.08.2018 there were no official events near the Guguta Cafe and the public space was not de facto closed to the public access, the application of the procedures, provided by art. 5 par. 3 and art. 22 aimed at the dispersion and takeover of protesters’ goods, are to be classified as illegal and abusive. Police intervention, with the contribution of the City Hall of Chisinau, may be qualified as a violation of the right to freedom of assembly provided by art. 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The intervention of the law enforcement forces was disproportionate without complying with the legal procedures and it did not pursue a justifiable purpose in terms of Law on Assemblies.

According to the report, the protesters (ACUM representatives) had to comply with the demands of the police to allow the consummation of the official events planned in advance to their intention to protest in front of the statue of Stefan cel Mare, as well as to leave the Square and allow the official ceremony to be held. However, the cessation of the gathering of ACUM and the dispersal of its participants were exceptional measures, used by the City Hall and the police in the first place, without examining other options, although they had sufficient time to negotiate other alternative measures.

According to Promo-LEX, the Executive Committee of ATU Gagauzia has also committed violations, which exceeded the powers conferred to it by issuing the Resolution on banning cultural and sports events in ATU Gagauzia.

The report contains recommendations for the organizers of the gatherings, local public authorities and law enforcement agencies.

For further information, please contact:
Inga Stegarescu, Communications Officer, Promo-LEX Association,
GSM: 069269684
E-mail: [email protected]

 The Moldovan government was forced to pay damages in the amount of 7,680 euros to a pensioner from Glodeni, who was forcibly placed in the Psychiatric Hospital following the incident of May 2014, when he had slapped across the face Valentina Buliga, ex-minister of Labor, Social Protection and Family.

On Tuesday, 4 September 2018, the European Court of Human Rights headquartered in Strasbourg issued a judgment finding that there had been a violation of Article 5 par. 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights with regard to the pensioner. The ECtHR obliged the Republic of Moldova to pay the applicant 6,000 euros as moral damages and 1,680 euros as costs and expenses (see the judgment here).

Mihail Dogotari is a 76-year-old pensioner, who slapped across the face Valentina Buliga, the former Minister of Labor, Social Protection and Family. The incident took place in May 2014, when the former minister Valentina Buliga had a meeting with residents of Glodeni district. Being dissatisfied with the National Social Insurance House, which calculated a lower retirement pay than he was due to receive (about 58 euros) Mihail Dogotari, a former engineer, approached Valentina Buliga at the end of the meeting. After the meeting, he asked the Minister about the method of calculating his retirement pay. He claimed that the coefficient used to calculate his retirement pay was wrong and that his pension was too low. The Minister replied that his retirement pay was large enough and questioned, ironically, whether the applicant really understood the meaning of the words used in his question. Hearing the answer, the applicant flew into a rage and slapped the Minister across the face.

After the incident, a criminal case for hooliganism was initiated with regard to the pensioner. On 2 July 2014, at the request of the prosecutor, the Glodeni District Court ordered an in-patient psychiatric examination of the applicant. On 18 September 2014, the applicant was arrested by a group of five police officers and taken to the Chisinau Psychiatric Hospital, where he was held for more than 7 days.

In February 2015, the applicant lodged a complaint with the High Court in Strasbourg, alleging that he had been violated the right to liberty and security granted under Article 5 of the ECHR.

The ECtHR considered that the applicant’s detention in the psychiatric hospital was inconsistent with the provisions of Art. 5 of the Convention and ordered the payment of moral damages and costs to the applicant.

For more details, please contact:
Alexandru Postica, Director of the Human Rights Program,
GSM: 069 104 851
Tel/Fax (+373 22) 450024
E-mail: [email protected]

Today, August 16, 2018, at a roundtable, Promo-LEX Association presented the semi-annual Report on “Human Rights in the Transnistrian Region of the Republic of Moldova”. The report includes findings on the situation of human rights in Transnistrian region in the period of January – June 2018.

Promo-LEX analyzed the actions of the constitutional authorities of the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, international organizations, and the de facto administration in Tiraspol.

The report analyzed the degree of implementation of the commitments, assumed through protocol decisions, decisions concerning human rights in the Transnistrian region, including freedom of movement, the situation of Latin-script schools, application of the apostille on the documents confirming one’s education issued by local institutions and the situation of farmers’ land in Dubasari.

According to the lawyers of Promo-LEX, the de facto administration in Tiraspol stood out by taking several controversial decisions. One of them is the ban on the treatment of patients with dangerous and particularly dangerous diseases by specialists from institutions with foreign capital.

In the previous report, Promo-LEX found that the presumption of innocence continued to be violated by the local security agencies and mass media take their press releases without adapting them. In the period between January and June 2018, these practices continued. Also, the practice of abduction and intimidation of people continues in Moldova as well as in neighboring Ukraine.

The report mentions that journalists that are inconvenient to the administration of the Transnistrian region are being put on “a spoke in the wheel”. For example, the newspaper Profsoiuznie Vesti ceased its activity following the modification of the “legislation” by the “Supreme Soviet” in Tiraspol. Its editor-in-chief, Ludmila Covali, believes the de facto administration has avenged it because the publication did not support the current authorities in the last election. One of the few independent journalists in the Transnistrian region confirmed the pressures faced by his fellow colleagues.

The study reminds the reader that on May 19, 2018 the new “regulations” on non-commercial organizations in the Transnistrian region came into force. According to these changes, local non-commercial organizations receiving funds from abroad will not be able to carry out a number of activities, including those related to the promotion and defense of human rights.

Organizations will be compelled, within one year, to comply with new changes, otherwise they risk being liquidated, and members of such organizations may bear “criminal” responsibility.

Unconditional support of the Russian Federation to the Transnistrian region continued. The Russian Federation sent to the Transnistrian region humanitarian aid amounting to 435 million Russian rubles. At the same time, the Operational Group of Russian Forces continues to teach lessons on patriotism to the young people from the region, train students of the “Suvorov school” in Tiraspol, carry out maneuvers and illegal military exercises.

Additionally, the Study on “Failure to enforce judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in cases originating from the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova”, elaborated by the expert Lilian Apostol was presented at the event.

The study seeks to identify the origins of non-execution of judgments handed down by the European Court of Human Rights in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova.

For further information, please contact:
Axenia Chirilov, Promo-LEX Association Press Officer
GSM: 060 16 83 14
E-mail: [email protected]

On July 31, 2018, Promo-LEX Association, together with the lawyer Veaceslav Turcan, organized a Press Conference raising concerns about the continued illegal practices of abduction and transmission of people to the structures of the Tiraspol regime.

Numerous cases have been recorded over the years, when representatives of the militia of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova abducted people and transported them to the territory, outside the control of constitutional authorities.

Recently, on July 27, while traveling on the Chisinau-Leuseni route, the former head of the so-called Interior Department of the Transnistrian region, Ghenadii Kuzmiciov, was stopped by a crew of the National Patrol Inspectorate for a routine check. Meanwhile, another vehicle, with no license plates, drew up, four masked men got out of it, forced Ghenadii Kuzmiciov to the ground, took all the papers from the hands of the police officers, detained Kuzmiciov and disappeared, taking him directly to the city of Tiraspol.

Ion Manole, Executive Director of Promo-LEX Association, says „there are signs of abduction in this case and it is extremely worrying that constitutional law enforcement agencies would have participated in this abduction. If it is demonstrated that the police are involved, this may later serve as an argument for Moldova’s conviction at the European Court of Human Rights, together with the Russian Federation, because the actions of the authorities contain abusive elements, demonstrating that constitutional authorities did not create efficient mechanisms to defend human rights and to guarantee the rights of the persons, who are on the territory of the country on a legal basis”.

Promo-LEX Association condemns the practices of collaboration between the constitutional police authorities and illegal structures in Transnistria. The Association reiterates that, according to the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, justice is only carried out by the constitutional authorities that have to decide on the application of the legal provisions.

According to Kuzmiciov’s relatives, after being detained, he was maltreated and refused the necessary medical assistance.

„Such unlawfulness could not have been committed without the top leaders of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, including the minister, being unaware. In such situations, in a civilized state, given the conditions of the Republic of Moldova, the authorities should give public explanations about the incident and inform citizens about the measures taken to prevent such situations from happening again. Another serious thing is that even the lawyer cannot find out details of the charges brought to Kuzmiciov, or his current health condition”, lawyer Veaceslav Turcan, said.

For further information, please contact:
Axenia Chirilov, Press Officer of Promo-LEX Association
GSM: 060 16 83 14
E-mail: [email protected]

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Civil society organizations, signatory hereto, express their concern and condemn the adoption of the new draft law (no. 284) on voluntary declaration and fiscal facilitation, which essentially represents a new attempt to amnesty the capital obtained from dubious sources. The presentation of this measure as an element of comprehensive tax reform without an impact assessment that is mandatory in such situations also raises suspicions. It appears that the intention of fiscal amnesty is disguised by tax reforms, some of them being long awaited for by business circles or welcomed by citizens. The fiscal amnesty, however, will deepen and encourage corruption, a consequence that we do not want as a society.

So far the Ministry of Finance fought vehemently for every MDL that could have been lost as a result of tax incentives. Now, however, the authorities have launched a new legislative initiative entitled „small tax reform” without a conclusive impact analysis, implying significant changes in numerous domains, including the „untouchable” one that concerns the mandatory contributions to the social fund. Contrary to the recommendations of the IMF and the World Bank, on 24 July 2018, the authorities launched a reform with unpredictable consequences for the national economy, as well as for the relations with external donors.

The political risk of multiple tax incentives provided by the so-called „small tax reform“ cannot be justified, unless these are intended to cover the amnesty of capital provided by the draft law no. 284, promoted in parallel and urgently in the Parliament.

Draft law no.284 on voluntary declaration and fiscal facilitation does not clearly specify the pursued aim. There is no explanation regarding the objective conditions that require this law and the intended purpose is missing as well. A conclusive impact analysis has not been carried out, and the practice of capital amnesty at a reduced price of only 3% compared to standard fees is contrary to international practices in this domain, implying major risks of negative social impact and stimulating the increase in tax exemption.

The draft law was approved by the Government on 25 July 2018, put on the agenda of the Parliament on 26 July 2018 and already adopted in both readings by 56 votes of MPs from Democratic and European People’s Parties. The day before, the draft received the positive opinion of the Parliament Committee for economy, budget and finance.

We should recall that a similar draft law was proposed in 2016, and it was strongly criticized both by the community of experts and civil society, as well as by international bodies. The return to the amnesty regime for accumulated and undeclared capital, with such an insistency and despite negative evaluations on the side of international bodies, is an indicator of promoting interests of some groups infiltrated into the political environment.

It is indisputable that the amnesty of the capital is a counter-productive measure, encouraging for those who receive income from corruption and crime and discouraging for bona fide citizens and tax payers. In fact, the existence of such draft laws indicates that the Government is unable to ensure the verification of the origins of assets and income and refuses to undertake measures and efforts to ensure this process.

The tax reform laws with such significant implications have been promoted with disregard to the democratic processes and without rigorous technical expertise indispensable for such reforms. Public hearings on this draft law did not exist and the process of launching and validating of the draft law on voluntary declaration and fiscal facilitation is done in a lightning-like regime, with direct violations of democratic processes, lack of transparency and the exclusion of the civil society. No public consultations were organized. The anti-corruption expertise has not been elaborated either, although it is mandatory under Law no. 100 on normative acts.

Such hurry is even more unacceptable in the case of a draft law on which both civil society and the development partners of our country have expressed negative opinion less than two years ago. The lack of impact analysis documents, as well as totally opposite statements by the Prime Minister and the Chair of the Parliament Committee for economy, budget and finance, denote a superficial approach without technical expertise of the draft law. This approach is on the edge of political adventurism and involves major risks of fiscal and budgetary instability for the following periods.

To reduce the risks of a tax reform, a number of principles shall be respected.

• Ensuring a democratic process, decision-making transparency and broad public consultations with sufficient deadlines for reactions and opinions of interested persons and organizations;
• Rigorous assessment of the impact of the proposed tax reform measures;
• Abandonment of tax amnesty laws in any form in the situation of massive corruption and embezzlement of public funds;
• Tax reform should improve social equity and contribute to a decent living for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova.

 The signatory organizations:

1. Condemn the adoption by the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova of the draft law on voluntary declaration and fiscal facilitation;
2. Request the President of the Republic of Moldova not to promulgate the adopted law;
3. Call for the involvement of the IMF, WB, EU, GRECO and Moneyval with the view to examine this legislative initiative in terms of compatibility with the international and bilateral commitments undertaken by the Republic of Moldova in relation to each of the partners.

The declaration in Romanian is available here.

The declaration in English is available here.

Signatory organizations:
Independent Analytical Centre Expert-Grup
Legal Resources Centre from Moldova (LRCM)
Centre for the Analysis and Prevention of Corruption (CAPC)
Centre for Policies and Reforms (CPR)
Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE)
Promo-LEX Association
Eco-TIRAS International Environmental Association of River Keepers
WatchDog.MD Community
AO BIOS

On July 26, 2018, Promo-LEX Association organized a press conference entitled “Criminal Justice System Kills People”, whereby lawyers of the Association brought to the public attention the situation of Serghei Cosovan, who is currently held in Penitentiary no. 16, being in an extremely grave condition. The lawyers also spoke of unskilled medical assistance provided in detention, as well as of the fact that there is yet no reaction to the Appeals submitted to the relevant authorities by both Promo-LEX and other international organizations.

Despite the Press Conference on the Case of Cosovan, organized by Promo-LEX Association on April 20, 2018, the Appeal filed by Amnesty International, the Appeal filed by the World Organization Against Torture, the concerns shared by the People’s Advocate (Ombudsman) etc., the responsible authorities have not come up with any reaction.

“According to the international experts and recommendations of the United Nations Committee Against Torture, there should be no parallel public health systems in a country. In the case of complex illnesses, such as we witness in Cosovan’s case, detainees must benefit from the full volume of qualified healthcare that cannot be provided by the medical service within the Moldovan penitentiary system,” Nicoleta Hriplivii, lawyer of Promo-LEX said.

Promo-LEX lawyers claim that medical service in the penitentiary system is not an independent one, it is not verified by the Ministry of Health, it does not exactly follow the clinical protocols, and therefore, will continue to generate human victims.

“However, we hope, that the authorities will hear us and develop policies to stop the process of abusive application of pre-trial detention at the request of prosecutors,“ Vadim Vieru, lawyer of Promo-LEX Association said.

Yesterday, 25 July, Promo-LEX sent its observations to the European Court of Human Rights, after on  March 29 this year, the Court urged Serghei Cosovan’s complaint filed by Promo-LEX on March 20, 2018.

Promo-LEX urges the Government of the Republic of Moldova, the competent authorities, to undertake the following individual and general measures:

• Emergency transfer of citizen Serghei Cosovan to a public medical institution, specializing in treatment of severe liver diseases and liver transplantation to ensure him the necessary medical assistance;
• Immediate implementation of measures, designed to reduce the high rate of excessive and unjustified application of pre-trial detention in the Republic of Moldova;
• Implementation of the recommendations made by the UN Committee Against Torture in 2017 on the transfer of medical units subordinated to the Department of Penitentiary Institutions (National Administration of Penitentiaries) to the subordination of Ministry of Health;
• Implementation of the recommendations made by the Council for the Prevention of Torture in 2018 by ensuring the independence of medical staff in all places of detention; by transferring responsibility for the detainees’ health to the Ministry of Health in order to ensure an independent medical examination;
• Providing detainees with access to quality medical services equivalent to those available in the public medical system.

For further information, please contact:
Axenia Chirilov, Promo-LEX Association Press Officer
GSM: 060 16 83 14
E-mail: [email protected]

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Today, July 17, 2018, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on the case of farmers from Dubăsari district, whose land was seized by the Tiraspol secessionist administration. The landowners from Dubăsari were represented at the ECtHR by the lawyers of Promo-LEX Association. In total, the case was filed at the request of 1,646 plaintiffs and 3 agricultural companies from Dubăsari district. The High Court found violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention by the Russian Federation in connection with the violation of the right of ownership or use of land holdings and violation of Article 13 of the Convention in conjunction with Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention in connection with the lack of effective national remedy against the violations of Article 1 of the ECHR.

The 8 applications, which include the complaints of 1,646 landowners and 3 agricultural commercial companies located in Dubăsari district, were filed with the European Court by the lawyers of Promo-LEX Association during the years 2004 through 2006. The applicants are residents and inhabitants of the villages Doroțcaia, Pârâta, Molovata-Nouă, Pohrebea, and Cocieri, situated on the left bank of the Nistru River, and hold land near their villages.

The Court ordered the Russian Federation to pay the applicants moral damages totaling EUR 2,499,300. Thus, each owner was awarded EUR 1,500 and the agricultural companies – EUR 5,000.

Furthermore, the Court ruled that the Russian Government must pay the companies the following material damages: EUR 115,300 to Agro-Tiras S.R.L.; EUR 80,500 to Agro-S.A.V.V.A. S.R.L., and EUR 50,000 to GȚ Serghei Popa.

To cover the representation costs, the Court ordered the payment of EUR 20,000.

“After 14 years, the European Court confirms the violation of ownership rights for thousands of residents in the security area. One should also note that their problems are still not solved. Hopefully, with this decision, the landowners will be fully able to manage their property,” said Ion Manole, CEO of Promo-LEX Association.

The problem of agricultural land located beyond the Tiraspol-Dubăsari-Râbniţa Highway arose in 1998 in several localities from Dubăsari district, when representatives of the separatist regime illegally installed posts along the Tiraspol-Râbnița Highway. Several years later, at the end of the 2004 agricultural season, plaintiffs were denied access to their property, which resulted in losses of tens of millions of Moldovan leis for them. At the beginning of the agricultural year 2005, the landowners were prevented from cultivating their agricultural land, which, again, resulted in huge losses.

“The European Court’s findings are particularly important and relevant. Currently, this issue is being discussed within the Transnistrian conflict negotiation format, and the parties involved in the talks have contradictory views. This decision highlights certain aspects that no one can ignore, namely that human rights are non-negotiable, and that they must be respected,” said Alexandru Postica, COP of Promo-LEX Association’s Human Rights Program.

Promo-LEX Association expresses gratitude to the partners who have supported it over the years in the case of the farmers from Dubăsari – the Open Society Institute, the National Endowment for Democracy, and Civil Rights Defenders.

For information, please contact:
Axenia Chirilov, press officer of Promo-LEX Association
GSM: 060 16 83 14
Email: [email protected]