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ECHR condemns Moldova because of minor maltreated and raped in detention


https://www.ipn.md/en/echr-condemns-moldova-because-of-minor-maltreated-and-raped-in-7967_1073794.html

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) passed the judgment in the case of a minor who was maltreated and raped in detention and ascertained ill-intention in the acts of the prosecutor and the court of law in the application of remand detention.

Contacted by IPN for a comment, lawyer for the Promo-LEX Association Vadim Vieru said the 17-year-old teen was arrested in August 2012 on suspicion of a number of serious offenses and was remanded in custody, being held for four months, which is the maximum period in the case of a minor. In the period, the teen lived near another five detainees accused of serious offenses, including murder. He was set free on December 9, 2012 and arrested again in less than an hour. The prosecutor in charge of this case artificially separated the accusations made against the minor so as to extend the remand detention beyond four months.

At the start of October 2012, the penitentiary’s personnel saw visible signs of violence on the teen’s body and these were confirmed by the jail’s doctor. The situation repeated in a week, but the teen denied having been ill-treated by the other detainees. He yet later admitted that he was maltreated and raped. An official complaint was submitted on October 19, 2012, but a criminal case wasn’t started because of lack of evidence.

The ECHR held that the authorities failed to prevent the maltreatment in the penitentiary, placing the minor in a cell with violent offenders, and that the investigation into the accusations of maltreatment and rape by cellmates was inefficient. It also held that the prosecutor and the court of law acted with ill-intention when the first artificially separated the accusations made against the minor so as to extend the remand detention beyond the legal limit of four months.

According to the lawyer, this case highlights the lack of mechanisms for ensuring protection and for efficiently investigating situations of maltreatment or rape of minors in detention. Even if the case occurred eight years ago, the situation hasn’t changed much.

The Court obliged the Republic of Moldova to pay €15,000 to the plaintiff in respect of non-pecuniary damage and €1,500 court costs.