7-day arrest warrant issued for Corjova mayor and councilman

Valeriu Mitsul, the mayor of Corjova village located on the eastern bank of the Nistru, and local councilman Iurie Cotofan, will stay behind bars for at least seven days, after an arrest warrant to that effect was issued by the Transnistrian authorities. The men were arrested on Wednesday, March 2, in front of the village church, reportedly for the “illegal act” of carrying Moldova's official flag at an event held to remember the deaths of the 1992 Nistru war, Info-Prim Neo reports. The Moldovan Reiteration Bureau issued today a communique to condemn the incident in Corjova as a blatant violation of human rights and fundamental liberties. The Bureau says that the incident has once again exposed the incapacity of the current peacekeeping operation to react to crisis situations, confirming the need to initiate discussions on transforming the operation into an internationally mandated multinational civil mission. “The Chisinau authorities lay all the responsibility for the illegalities which occurred in the Security Zone and the potential consequences of this provocation on the Tiraspol authorities”. “This is an attempt to intimidate the population of Corjova village and an obvious attempt to tense the situation in the region”, said the Bureau. The Moldovan government asks the international community, and in particular the mediators and observers involved in the settlement of the Transnistrian dispute, for a prompt intervention to secure the unconditional and immediate release of the illegally detained Moldovan citizens.