Justice Ministry Officials acknowledge violations of rights of arrested people
- 15.04.2008 06:27
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- 2 minute(s)
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Deputy minister of justice Nicolae Esanu calls on to better conditions of pre-trial arrest. The official told a seminar in Chisinau on Tuesday, April 15, that the rights of the people in pre-trial custody in Moldova go on being violated, Info-Prim Neo reports.
The deputy minister has said it is mostly the rights to correspondence and to visits.
Nicolae Esanu says it is necessary to reduce the pre-trial detention period, starting by observing the presumption of innocence. He suggests judges to issue pre-trial arrest warrants only in when it is necessary for preliminary probe.
“Restricting the freedom during the penal inquest should be an exception, because it is not a punishment, but a measure meant for the good development of the probe and for judging the case. If considered it is not necessary, the person shall be set free,” said the deputy minister.
The seminar entitled “The Conditions of Pre-Trial Arrest in Moldova” is held on April 15-16 by the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Penitentiaries Department of the Justice Ministry.
To improve the conditions of pre-trial custody, the participants have pointed out the need to build 8 new pre-trial isolators more in different Moldovan districts. Yet the project lacks funding. Moldova has three special pre-trial arrest penitentiaries: penitentiary 13 in Chisinau, no.11 in Balti and no.5 in Cahul. Some people taken into custody wait to be judged in penal inquest isolators of the Interior Ministry.
According to statistics disseminated at the seminar, the number of detained people has dropped by 50% in Moldova for the last two years. In 2006, the total number of detainees stood at 10,000. Now there 8,000 of them, of which 2,000 are arrested and expect to be sentenced.
