The case of Andrei Braguta showed how the legal system that interacted with a citizen caused a short circuit. There were a number of stages in this case. If they had intervened and each person had done their job, Andrei Braguta would have been alive now. None of the functionaries with whom he interacted did their job as these acted in a stereotyped way and nonprofessionally, the family’s lawyer Vadim Vieru, of Promo-LEX Association, stated in an interview for IPN half a year after the death in state custody of the 32-year-old man, who suffered from mental disorders.
“If the prosecutor hadn’t asked for an arrest warrant and had asked for Braguta to be admitted to a psychiatric medical institution, or if the judge had rejected the prosecutor’s request as it was evidently illegal, or if other players had fulfilled their duties appropriately, if Braguta had been placed in a cell alone and he wouldn’t have been maltreated by cellmates etc. a case of death in state custody wouldn’t have occurred. It was a short circuit from the beginning till the end,” stated Vadim Vieru.
According to the lawyer, the case was discussed at international level and, as a result, the Government was asked to take concrete measures in particular areas. This is probably the best result achieved in this case. However, there are particular deficiencies that create the impression of superficiality in the activity of some of the responsible entities. For example, information was leaked by the police to media outlets and this fact wasn’t investigated even if internal inquiries were announced.
Vadim Vieru said there should be worked out protocols so that the police officers and prosecutors know how to behave and what legal action should take in relation to persons suspected of mental disorders, etc. Also, we will continue to insist that there is no need to keep two parallel medical systems: a general one managed by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection, and another one in the penitentiary system, managed by the Ministry of Justice, where the quality standards are very different. The medical services of the penitentiary institutions or remand prisons should be managed by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection. “Last but not least, the practice of illegal and abusive arrests should be stopped,” stated the lawyer.
