CTP recommends Moldova to address prison ill-treatment issues

The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) recommends that the Moldovan authorities pursue their strategy to combat inter-prisoner violence and intimidation, in particular at Penitentiary No.12 in Bender. During a fact-finding visit, the CPT experts found that that prison staff had been exploiting the informal prisoner hierarchy to impose order in the penitentiary establishment. In a report released on Thursday detailing the CPT visit to Moldova, which took place during 21-27 June 2010, the CPT experts call on Moldovan authorities to improve conditions in the Bender prison, in particular negotiated with the de facto authorities of Bender to restore the establishment’s access to the water, sewage and electricity system. Concerning ill-treatment in police custody, it was found that the behavior of police officers had considerably improved as compared with only a few years ago. The dismissal of a number of police officers and related criminal investigations following the events of April 2009 had apparently had a major deterrent effect. However, the delegation did gather information about a number of cases of alleged police ill-treatment, some of a very serious nature. According to the report, the Moldovan authorities developed detailed action plans to improve professional training for the police and reinforce procedural safeguards against ill-treatment. The CTP's report also says that the initial objective of the visit was to re-examine the situation in prison and police establishments in the Transnistrian region. However, the delegation was not allowed to speak to remand prisoners in private. The CPT indicates in the report that it is prepared to resume the visit as soon as the power to interview all categories of detained persons in private is again guaranteed. The Committee will review the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in Moldova during a periodic visit scheduled for 2011