The Chisinau Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation to determine if a man who died at the Râșcani Police Inspectorate of the Chisinau Police Division while being questioned as a witness was subject to torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. The way in which the police acted to give first aid to the victim will also be examined, IPN reports.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the person was taken to the police inspectorate to be question as a witness in a criminal case. Shortly after entering the office of a criminal police officer, the man lost consciousness and the ambulance crew called out found him dead.

"Although the initial examination carried out by the forensic pathologist did not reveal signs of violent death, the circumstances of the case require a rigorous assessment of how the police employees acted in relation to the deceased person, from the moment of the interaction until the stating of his death," said the Prosecutor General's Office.

The deceased man was 29 years old and did not have a permanent place of residence.

According to the standards set out by the European Court of Human Rights, if a person is injured or dies while in state custody, the authorities must provide a plausible explanation for the circumstances of the incident.