The Ministry of Justice issued a press release today to express its concern over the rising number of people in preventive detention and how this might run counter to European practice and law.

According to the MoJ, the number of people in detention at the phase of criminal investigation in the first quarter of 2019 rose from 284 to 344 compared to the similar period last year, as the number of people in pre-trial detention decreased only slightly, from 718 to 711.

At the same time, the number of new arrests ordered by courts in the first quarter of 2019 rose compared to the last quarter of 2018 from 791 to 867.

The MoJ notes that this happens despite the adoption of amendments to criminal procedure law in August 2018 to combat the practice of arbitrary and excessive arrest, following an increase in the number of cases where Moldova was found guilty of violating Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

“The standards contained in Article 5 of the Convention guarantee the fundamental right to liberty and security (...) Any  provisional detention shall meet the principle of lawfulness and shall not be arbitrary, meaning it shall not exceed a reasonable period of time and that the competent judicial authorities shall examine regularly the existence of relevant and sufficient reasons warranting the deprivation of freedom. Keeping a person in provisional custody must be justified and be based on precise and concrete elements, and any justification based on general or stereotyped reasons shall be unacceptable. Therefore, any justification of arrest shall be based on evidence,” reads the statement.