Another young man complains to ECHR about police torture in April 2009

The European Court of Human Rights informed the Government of Moldova about the case of Iurie Craciuneac versus Moldova, in which a young man complained about the ill-treatment to which he was subjected by the police in April 2009, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to a communiqué from the nongovernmental association Promo-LEX, which represents Iurie Craciuneac in court, the young man is another victim of the police torture of April 2009. As the national courts didn’t do him justice, on December 2, 2010 the man filed a complaint to the ECHR. Promo-LEX says that on April 7, 2009, Iurie Craciuneac took part in a peaceful protest staged in his native town Cahul. After finding out about the protests mounted in Chisinau, he and a group of young men went to the Great National Assembly Square in Chisinau, where they demonstrated peacefully. When returning home, several persons in civvies stopped the bus without presenting themselves or providing explanations. Afterward, a number of police cars took the young men to the General Police Commissariat of Chisinau municipality. The report on Iurie Crsciuneac’s arrest was drawn up the next day. The procedure lasted for at most ten minutes and there were presented no proofs. The association said that while in detention Iurie Craciuneac had been maltreated. After multiple delays, a criminal case was ultimately opened over use of torture. However, the investigation did not produce results, while the persons who ill-treated him were not held accountable. The plaintiff complained to the ECHR about the violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the ill-treatment by the police, inhuman detention conditions and lack of medical assistance during the detention period. He also invoked the violation of Article 13 as he did not benefit from an efficient method of defending himself in court. According to Promo-LEX, the ECHR so far informed the Government of Moldova about three cases involving young people maltreated in April 2009. In another case, the decision was passed.