The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has been asked to examine a case where two members of the human rights organization Promo-LEX were briefly detained at a peacekeeping checkpoint on the Nistru River. Another case brought by Promo-LEX before ECHR involves a Tiraspol man being jailed for a mention in his personal notebook.

In the first case, two Promo-LEX jurists, Ion Manole and Alexandru Postica, along with a third person who wished to remain unnamed, were detained at a peacekeeping checkpoint in July 2005 on their way from Coșnița to Chișinău, after they photographed a road sign. Russian soldiers demanded that the film be destroyed and threatened the travelers by firing warning shots from assault rifles.

The soldiers continued to display an aggressive behavior and refused to let the car pass even after peacekeeping superiors arrived at the checkpoint. The incident was finally over after midnight thanks to the concerted effort of Moldovan authorities, journalists, civil society members and residents of Dubăsari district.

The second case involves the illegal detention of a Transnistria resident named Oleksandr Lypovchenko who was jailed by the de facto authorities for the “extremist” remark made in his personal notebook wherein he concluded that “there will be order in Transnistria only if UN troops are sent in”. Given 3 years’ imprisonment, Lypovchenko protested by going on hunger strike for several months. This, plus the infamously terrible detention conditions in Transnistrian prisons, caused his health to deteriorate seriously.

Under a new ECHR practice, parties have been given until 8 July 2019 to settle the case amicably. ECHR has decided to fast-track Lypovchenko’s case and invited Ukraine to join as a third party.