The guardians tried in the “case of Andrei Braguță”, who died in a remand prison in Chisinau, were convicted on June 4. Contacted by IPN for details, one of the lawyers for the Braguță family, Vadim Vieru, said eight of the guardians were give three-year suspended sentences, while five got jail terms. Four guardians were sentenced to three years and six months in prison, while one to four years behind bars.

Vadim Vieru noted the young man’s family will challenge the judgments so as to seek harsher penalties for all the culprits. The family hopes they will get the most severe penalty possible. The parents can be understood as they lost their child. “As lawyers, given the requests made by the prosecutor, we agree with the sentence, but will challenge it as the family wants so,” said the lawyer.

The judgments were passed by judges of the Buiucani branch of the Chisinau City Court. They can be challenged within 15 days.

Andrei Braguță died in the hospital of Penitentiary No. 16 (Pruncul) in Chisinau, where he was remanded in custody for 30 days, in August 2017. The medical-legal examination report showed he died of respiratory insufficiency caused by purulent bronchopneumonia. The Prosecutor’s Office published images showing how Andrei Brăguță, who since 2012 had been under the supervision of a psychiatrist, was being beaten cruelly by cellmates, while guardians of the remand prison did nothing to stop them.