The 45 minors held at the Penitentiary No. 2 in Lipcani are taught practical skills like carpentry, construction and joinery. The minors, who have been convicted of minor offences of different gravity, say the jobs they learn in prison will help them in the future. The vocational school No. 5, where the detainees study, has by three sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Iurie Furmuzache, the penitentiary’s acting head, told Info-Prim Neo that the students are of different ages. They are distributed to the grades according to their knowledge. Nicolae, from Falesti, is 19. In 2008, he was sentenced to eight years in jail for murder, but he will serve one more year and will be released. “When I am free, I will look for a job. I have a daughter aged two years and a half and I have to maintain my family. I want a united family. I hope I will never get to prison again. I want to be near my parents, wife and child. I learned how to build and will use these skills when I go free,” said Nicolae. Alexei is 18. He was sentenced to three years and a half behind bars because he took two bicycles from his grandmother’s yard without permission. “I work in all the areas here. I learned to build things when I was 13. When I am released, I will go to see my family and will look for a job,” said Alexei. Children’s ombudswoman Tamara Plamadeala visited the detainees in the penitentiary. “The young people complained that they were subjected to torture by police officers while they were under investigation. “I wonder why they don’t believe the children, but the police officers when they investigate such cases,” Tamara Plamadeala said, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. She also said she will recommend the Bar Association to analyze the services provided by the lawyers, especially in cases involving minors. “We need lawyers specialized in children’s rights protection, even specialized judges,” the ombudswoman said. The penitentiary’s acting head Iurie Furmuzache said that 30% of the detainees are recidivists. There are also persons who change their behavior as they do not want to return to prison. “The number of convicts is now lower. There were about 80 minor prisoners, but many of them were amnestied,” Iurie Furmuzache said. According to the Department of Penitentiary Institutions, 83 minors were in jails in Moldova on October 1, 2009. Seventy-four minors had been pardoned by January 1, 2009 under the law on amnesty.