AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

generally restrained, occasionally involved
unnecessary or excessive use of force,
including tear gas and batons.
The trial continued of the seven “Petrenco
group” protesters (for trying to force their way
into the Prosecutor’s Office during a
demonstration on 6 September 2015), with
six of them spending over six months in
detention and all charged with “attempting to
organize mass disturbances”. Following
much criticism in Moldova and
internationally, the six detained defendants
were placed under house arrest on 22
February and released one month later under
travel restrictions.
UNFAIR TRIALS
The case against the “Petrenco group” and a
number of other criminal prosecutions
prompted concerns about political bias.
Following eight months of detention, on 27
June Vladimir Filat was found guilty of
“passive corruption” and “benefiting from
[his] influence” in relation to fraud in 2014
that cost the National Bank over a third of its
reserves, and sentenced to nine years’
imprisonment. His closed trial left more
questions than answers, including over the
lack of investigation against any other
politicians. His defence appealed against the
verdict and claimed that there were
procedural violations and lack of equality of
arms between the parties. The latter was
officially denied, but because of the closed
proceedings, neither claim could be
independently verified. During the hearing,
Vladimir Filat reportedly went on hunger
strike for 20 days and once lost
consciousness in the courtroom.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION – MEDIA
While media freedom was generally
respected, concerns over independence
persisted in light of the concentration of
ownership in the hands of a few individuals.
At least two prominent critical journalists
complained of anonymous threats. In August,
a bullet was fired into the window of
Constantin Cheianu’s daughter’s flat. The
journalist had received text messages
warning that he “will be stopped” if he
carried on writing about the oligarchic
system. TV presenter Natalia Morari reported
receiving similar warnings from a source
which she described as credible. Both
journalists filed official complaints with
the authorities.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
No progress was made to address structural
causes of impunity for torture and other illtreatment,
while the prosecution of alleged
perpetrators remained extremely rare.
Between January and June, 331 people
complained to the Prosecutor’s Office about
torture and other ill-treatment. Out of 19
torture-related cases in which courts gave
decisions, 15 resulted in convictions but only
two out of the 18 defendants convicted
received custodial sentences.
Vladimir Filat’s family and lawyer
repeatedly alleged that he was ill-treated,
including by being placed in solitary
confinement where they said conditions
amounted to torture. This once again shone a
light on Penitentiary Institution no. 13 in
Chişinău, which had been criticized by
independent monitors in previous years. All
requests for an independent visit to Filat,
including by Amnesty International, were
refused, even after his conviction. However,
Amnesty International visited the institution
and confirmed that while conditions had
visibly improved in some cells (improvements
usually sponsored by inmates’ families),
overcrowding and poor sanitary and hygiene
conditions prevailed in others.
In June, the European Committee for the
Prevention of Torture reported on its
September 2015 visit to Moldova. It noted
progress since 2011, but there were still
concerns about excessive force by police
during arrest, ill-treatment of detainees
during “preliminary questioning”, and
overcrowding of “disturbing proportions” in
some prisons.
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