Conclusion: Torture victims do not get State support

Torture victims continue to be discriminated in Moldova, on both banks of the Nistru, and do not receive the necessary psychological treatment. This is the conclusion made by a group of national and foreign experts at a press conference organized on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, June 26, reports Info-Prim Neo. “You know very well that we have people on both sides of the Nistru, who are in need of such assistance. We assist people, not only here, but on the left bank of the Nistru as well, because over there torture is still a common practice. It is regrettable that the rehabilitation of torture victims was not part of the agenda of EU’s Anti-torture Committee Delegation. It is also regrettable that the topic of rehabilitating torture victims is not part of the EU-Moldova political dialogues”, stated Ludmila Popovici, executive director of the Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims “Memoria”. Alexandru Zubco, coordinator of the Law Department of the Resource and Development Center for Transnistria of Promo-Lex Association, mentioned that in Transnistrian detention facilities at over 100 people were subjected to torture. The latter filed complaints with the ECHR. Thus, both Moldova and the Russian Federation will receive fines for this. According to the specialist, the three penitentiaries from the Transnistrian region host around 3000 inmates, which is a high number compared to the territory administered by the Constitutional authorities of Moldova, where 6000 inmates are spread between 19 facilities. “We tried to file our assessments with the Law institutions in Moldova, where we brought to light cases of torture and harsh treatment, including unlawful privation of liberty. We tried to convince the Prosecution bodies to open criminal files, but they can only be opened based on Article 166, i.e. illegal privation of liberty, but not torture. Most of these files are either closed or pending, because of the political situation in the region. This is inadmissible. The torture prevention mechanism functions on a national level. Regrettably, this mechanism does not extend to the penitentiaries in the Transnistria region. No one can monitor to what extent the inmates’ rights are respected in those prisons, unless they have a permission from the administration in Tiraspol”, added Alexandru Zubco. Head of the International Executive Committee of the Human Rights Embassy, lawyer Veaceslav Turcan said that Moldova is better off compared to CIS member-states. Nevertheless, people who have suffered from torture do not receive rehabilitation support. According to representative of the Minnesota Center for Victims of Torture (USA) Kristi Rendahl, torture is used to instill fear and control the community. The rehabilitation of torture victims proves that torture exists, and uncovers the lies behind which the violation of human rights is hidden. The Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims “Memoria” is active since 2000. Presently, 380 benefit from medical and legal assistance.