The ex-head of the so-called Interior Department of the Transnistrian region Gennady Kuzmichov was kidnaped and transported to the territory that is outside the constitutional authorities’ control by representatives of the Transnistrian militia with the involvement of the constitutional police force. The association Promo-LEX condemns the practices of cooperation between the constitutional police bodies and the illegal bodies from the left side of the Nistru and reiterates that under the Constitution, justice is done only by the constitutional authorities that should take decisions as to the implementation of the legal provisions, IPN reports.
Recently, Gennady Kuzmichov, when travelling on the Chisinau – Leuseni road, was stopped by a team of the National Patrolling Inspectorate to have his documents checked. Meanwhile, another vehicle, without registration numbers, stopped and four masked persons got out and pulled Gennady Kuzmichov down, taking all the documents from the police officers. These took Kuzmichov to Tiraspol town. According to Kuzmichov’s relatives, after he was arrested, he was maltreated and wasn’t offered the necessary medical assistance.
In a news conference, Promo-LEX director Ion Manole said all signs show this was kidnapping and the case involved members of the constitutional police and this is very worrisome. “If it’s proven that representatives of the police were involved, this fact could be later used as an argument by the European Court of Human Rights to condemn the Republic of Moldova, alongside the Russian Federation, as the actions taken by the authorities contain abusive acts showing that the constitutional authorities didn’t create efficient mechanisms for defending the human rights and for guaranteeing the rights of persons who stay legally on the country’s territory,” he stated.
The director of Promo-LEX noted namely the authorities of the Republic of Moldova should ensure guarantees for individual freedom and for the safety of persons all over Moldova, especially on the territory controlled by the constitutional authorities. Moldova pledged to ensure conditions and offer guarantees to all the persons who are on its territory and to ensure their safety.
Ion Manole said that since 2005, when the lawyers of Promo-LEX took over the first cases of kidnapping of persons, the situation practically hasn’t changed. In 2008, there was the case of Berzan, the young man from Dorotcaia who was handed over by local police employees to “colleagues” in Grigoriopol. Later, in 2011, Promo-LEX represented another two cases of kidnapping of persons (Filin and Negruta). “All the three cases are pending at the ECHR and we are confident that this time the Republic of Moldova will be convicted because the actions by the constitutional authorities contain abusive acts and this shows that our authorities didn’t create efficient instruments and mechanisms for defending and guaranteeing human rights and are even accomplices in their violation and expose the life and health of persons to risks,” stated Ion Manole.
He also said that the practices of cooperation between the Ministry of the Interior of Moldova and the so-called Interior Department of the Transnistrian region continue in breach of a court decision that invalidated a presupposed cooperation agreement signed in 1999. Such practices are illegal as they violate the presumption of innocence too. Namely the Moldovan authorities should impose penalties, but only in accordance with the procedures and legal norms. The handing over of a person to the bodies of the Transnistrian regime is a crime committed by the constitutional authorities as the law enforcement agencies have to protect persons, not to expose them to risks by being transferred to a territory that is not controlled by them and to which they will not have access for trying to defend their rights there.
The lawyer that defends the kidnapped person Veaceslav Turcan said such an illegality couldn’t have been committed without the consent of the senior administration of the Ministry of the Interior, including the minister. “In such a situation, the authorities should provide public explanations about the given incident and should inform the citizens about the taken measures so that such situations do not repeat. Not even the lawyer can find out details about the accusations made against Kuzmichov and his state of health and this is serious,” stated the lawyer, adding the minister of the interior should tender his resignation.
In a comment for the press, the Prosecutor General’s Office said the Chisinau City Prosecutor’s Office took over this case from the police and is investigating this. The Ministry of the Interior hasn’t commented yet.
