The case of “Petrenco group” and a series of other cases arouse concerns as to the biased and selective character of justice, shows the Amnesty International Annual Report on the state of the human rights in the world, the region and the Republic of Moldova.
Igor Stoica, programs coordinator at Amnesty International Moldova, in a news conference at IPN, said the principle of fair justice in the Republic of Moldova is very often violated. It is about such elements as presumption of innocence or public and transparent hearings.
He referred to the case of “Petrenco group” whose members were arrested in September 2015 for attempting to enter the Prosecutor General’s Office by force. According to Igor Stoica, six persons from this group have been unjustifiably held for six months in Penitentiary No. 13 and were then placed under house arrest. In about two months, they were set free under judicial control. This happened in the absence of a well-founded juridical explanation of the necessity of such punitive measures. “The question is substantial – was there such a contravention in general and what will this case end with? These persons continue to be under judicial control and cannot leave the country and travel,” said the representative of AI Moldova.
The report also makes reference to the case of ex-Premier Vlad Filat, who was sentenced to nine years in jail. The closed character of the trial aroused questions, including as to why other politicians weren’t investigated as well.
The report shows that no progress was made in addressing the structural causes of impunity for torture and other kinds of ill-treatment. In January-June 2016, 331 persons filed complaints about use of torture and ill-treatment to the Prosecutor General’s Office. Of the 19 sentences over torture, only two imposed jail terms.
Amnesty International Moldova executive director Cristina Pereteatcu concluded that the human rights in 2016 weren’t approached by political parties or candidates for President in their programs.
