The April 7, 2009 events remain a bleeding wound for the Republic of Moldova. Many of the violations that were committed then weren’t removed and the persons who were affected weren’t reinstated, said the head of the Journalistic Investigations Center Cornelia Cozonac. Contacted by IPN, the journalist said the April 7, 2009 events and the ensuing events actually revealed the shortcomings in a number of state systems – the police, the judiciary, etc.
According to the journalist, even if so many years passed, the very complex case of ‘April 7’ hasn’t been yet solved. “Those who poorly managed the April 7 events and didn’t protect those who gathered together in the Great National Assembly Square, but even committed abuses should have stood trial,” stated Cornelia Cozonac.
According to the journalist, the young people who were abusively arrested and taken to police stations where they were ill-treated and beaten and were tried incorrectly, in breach of the law. “Not many persons were punished for the abuses committed then. Only several judges were removed from the system because they unlawfully tried young people in police commissariats. Several prosecutors were punished disciplinarily. A number of police officers were brought to justice, but I didn’t hear some of these to be convicted by definitive court judgments. Several policemen were convicted, but didn’t get jail terms,” she stated.
The head of the Journalistic Investigations Center noted that the April 7 events revealed the authorities’ inability to rehabilitate the victims of torture. “In many young people, those maltreatments will leave scars for life even if they recovered their health. The state institutions did nothing to rehabilitate these young people. But they are the generation that will ensure the country’s future and we need them to be upright and steady so as to do something for this country,” said Cornelia Cozonac.
She added that fewer cases of torture are now recorded and this is an effect of the April 2009 events.
The journalist regrets that the subject of “April 7” disappeared from the agenda of the press. “In the period, this topic was forgotten by a large part of the press even if the problems haven’t been solved and the same drawbacks exist in the system. The press should frequently address these events because we cannot be sure that we will not witness a new ‘April 7’,” stated Cornelia Cozonac.
The journalist noted that the human right defenders during the last few years warned that the situation worsened as regards the freedom of expression and the freedom of assembly in Moldova. This is a signal that events similar to those of April 7, 2009 can anytime repeat in Moldova.
