Law experts underline the necessity of creating a specialized institution that will investigate the complaints about the use of torture and inhuman treatment. They say it must be independent from the Ministry of the Interior and the Prosecutor General’s Office, should report directly to the Parliament and be financed from the state budget. “Only this way can we make sure that all the complaints about the use of torture are examined objectively and independently, while the victims will see that justice is done to them and those to blame are held accountable,” lawyer and human rights expert [Doina Ioana Straisteanu] has told Info-Prim Neo. “We, the lawyers, ask the Ministry of the Interior and the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate cases of torture, but the investigations are usually delayed and a large part of the evidence collected during many months is lost. Unfortunately, the legislation includes many mechanisms and stipulations that are ineffective,” the expert said. Consultant to the Minister of the Interior [Valeriu Cerba] considers there should be created community police organizations that would react promptly to people’s intimations, provide legal assistance to the population and ensure greater transparency in the work of the police. The April events pointed to the necessity of such organizations. “Now we want to stabilize the situation, assess the personnel and improve the skills of the police, both in education institutions and in the Ministry of the Interior,” Valeriu Cerba said. According to Cerba, the prosecutors have started 31 legal cases against police officers over acts of torture this year. The number of lectures on human rights and professional ethics in police education establishments was doubled. There are held seminars and steps are taken to eliminate cases of use of torture by the police. [Raisa Botezatu], vice president of the Supreme Court of Justice, said that there are many cases of abuse of power. The cases are not always correctly investigated and this was confirmed by the last ECHR decision on Moldova of October 20. “The persons that deal with the combating of torture must realize the importance of this task,” [Eduard Harunjen], the head of the prosecution control division of the Prosecutor General’s Office, stated for Info-Prim Neo. “The law enforcement bodies must pay increased attention to this phenomenon. We hope the situation will improve,” he said. Harunjen also said that the Prosecutor General’s Office this year has received 554 complains, has opened 64 legal cases against police officers and sent 20 cases to court. Sixteen policemen have been convicted. One of them serves a jail sentence.