The Prosecutor General’s Office (PG) pretends to be implementing the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) concerning the rights of every citizen of Moldova, including the Transnistrians, and does nothing to ensure the human rights, human rights expert of Promo-Lex Association Doina-Ioana Straisteanu told a news conference on February 19, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to her, a prisoner of the penitentiary in Tiraspol, Iurie Matchenko, had been on hunger strike for 40 days and damaged badly his health, but was not provided medical care. The young man was arrested in September 2009 on suspicion he extorted money and was subject to inhuman treatment by Transnistrian militiamen. They demanded that Matchenko accept blame for the offense. When he refused, they took him to a wood, put the gun to his temple and shot with blanks, but promised they will use real bullets the next time. Straisteanu said that after that Matchenko declared hunger strike, demanding that his prosecutor and investigator be changed. Forty days later he abandoned the hunger strike as he felt sick and sought help from Promo-LEX. When the militiamen found out about his call for help, they intensified their attacks on Matchenko. The prosecutor of Division No. 1 of the Prosecution Control Division Tatiana Gulea answered to Promo-Lex’ petition, saying “the PG examined the application concerning [the allegedly illegal actions taken by the Transnistrian militia] against Matchenko. Unfortunately, in the present political situation, the prosecution bodies of Moldova cannot intervene to protect the rights and freedoms of the Transnistrian residents.” According to Tatiana Gulea, in 1997 Moldova stated it will not be able to protect the rights of the population living on the left bank of the Nistru until the Transnistrian conflict is solved. Doina-Ioana Straisteanu stressed that when the ECHR examined the case of Ilie Ilascu, it did not take into account the Moldovan Government’s assertions that it cannot intervene in the Transnistrian region to protect the human rights there, arguing that Moldova must respect the rights of all its people, including of those from Transnistria.