Moldovan citizen Vitalie Eriomenko had been held in a jail in Transnistria for six years. In a news conference at IPN, this told about the challenges with which he had to deal.
Before being arrested and convicted to 12 years in jail, Vitalie Eriomenko was the manager of a bakery complex based in Slobozia, which employed about 500 people. The troubles started in 2010. A so-called deputy of the Transition region decided to take his business. As he refused to concede it, he was illegally arrested. Vitalie Eriomenko said he was swiftly convicted of embezzlement, with all his rights being violated. His house was searched, while his wife and children were driven off the house in the middle of the night.
After he was jailed, the relatives could not visit Vitalie Eriomenco for several years. No medical assistance was provided to him even if he was sick and needed medicines. Only owing to the effort made by the rehabilitation center “Memoria” could he obtain the necessary medical assistance. The ex-detainee also appreciated the efforts of the jurists of “Promo-LEX” Association, who now represent him at the ECHR. Eriomenko said he was set free only after he made a number of approaches to the Transnistrian leader Yevgheny Shevchuk.
“Promo-LEX” head Ion Manole said the man decided to appear before the press after he met one of his torturers in Transnistria at a mall in Chisinau. In the absence of a mechanism for monitoring the observance of human rights, the real number of victims of torture and inhuman treatment in the Transnistrian jails is not known. Many of the victims of the illegalities committed by the so-called Transnistrian investigation bodies and courts do not know how to defend themselves and ultimately give up, abandoning businesses and property.
“Promo-LEX” jurist Nicoleta Hriplivii said the case of Eriomenko was examined as a matter of urgency by the ECHR and this will soon pass its judgment. The ECHR earlier pronounced a decision by which Russia is convicted in the case of Boris Mozer, who complained about inhuman treatment in the Transnistrian jails.
