The judicial practice of Moldova allows imprisoning any citizen who is unable to pay contribution to the state, said lawyer Vitalie Taulean, who represents Vladimir Duplinschi, the man who was arrested after he didn’t pay an overdue health insurance premium.
“The fine imposed on Vladimir Duplinshi was replaced with arrest for a period of 25 days for the simple reason that he was unable to pay the mandatory health insurance premium. It is evident that such an act runs counter to the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and ECHR Convention that ban the jailing of persons who are unable to pay or for debts,” Vitalie Taulean told a news conference at IPN.
According to the lawyer, they provided evidence showing that Vladimir Duplinschi is unable to pay and that he partially paid the price of the health policy (health insurance premium calculated in fixed form) and had to pay another 1,000 lei. The judges committed an illegality and the punishment imposed on his client is dubious. The most severe punishment that the man could mete out was 15 days of arrest, not 25 days, as the court ruled.
Vitalie Taulean also said that even if it was proven that his client was unable to pay, the court obliged him to find a job so as to pay the health policy. The lawyer intends to file a complaint to the Persecutor General’s Office and the Supreme Council of Magistrates, over the illegalities committed by the court, as well as to the ECHR as he is convinced that the given case will be definitely won.
The arrested man’s wife Maria Duplinschi said that her husband lost capacity to work in 2000, when he was involved in an accident. She had to go abroad to work to maintain the family that consists of six members. Her husband received treatment at the hospital for several times and paid for the medical services provided to him based on a bill from the hospital. But at the end of 2012, the family received a letter, informing them that the health policy must be paid fully even if the members of the family didn’t need medical care during that year. However, the family paid the price of the health policy completely.
Last year, they were also informed about the necessity of paying the health insurance premium. They paid only 50% of it. Afterward, the family decided not to pay anymore. “If the law exists, it should apply to everyone, not only to a person from the village. I asked all my relatives and they said that they didn’t face such problems. Even if nobody works in the village, no one was obliged to pay the health policy. I want my husband to be set free as soon as possible. We live in a democratic country and can choose by ourselves the hospital where to go. Even if we received treatment at the hospital, we paid for all the medical services,” stated Maria Duplinschi.
According to the woman, her husband is held at the Chisinau penitentiary No.13, in a cell where there are another 16 persons.
