A guidebook on torture combating has been launched in Chisinau. It includes procedural recommendations for lawyers and prosecutors and for victims of torture, IPN reports.

Public lawyer Veronica Mihailov-Moraru, one of the authors of the guide, said the book was produced in cooperation with the Torture Combating Division of the Prosecutor General’s Office. The guide contains four cases of torture with the description of situations, conclusions and recommendations where the persons who go through similar situations can seek help.

“We formulated recommendations for the population to know their elementary rights when they are tortured or subject to ill-treatment by the police or other state bodies,” said the lawyer.

The guide also suggests a series of recommendations for the Government of Moldova with a view to improving the legal framework and obtaining additional guarantees for torture victims. The guide describes circumstances in which cases of torture and ill-treatment can happen and the legal actions of the victims and their lawyers.

There are also a series of recommendations for the Ministry of Justice and the Government of Moldova for dealing with torture and ill-treatment. “We face serious problems related to the mentality of employees of law enforcement bodies, reasonable and complete operative examination of complaints about torture and ill-treatment, and the protection of victims from police employees,” said Veronica Mihailov-Moraru.

The guide was compiled during a year within the project “Strategic Litigation – Stop Torture in Moldova” by Amnesty International Moldova and experts of the project Natalia Molosag and Veronica Mihailov-Moraru, with financial support from the Open Society Foundations (OSF).