Four Moldovan NGOs express solidarity with Ilie Cazac's family

The nongovernmental organizations Promo-Lex, Hyde Park, the Human Rights Institute of Moldova (IDOM), and Memoria Center, picketed on Thursday the Russian Embassy in Chisinau in solidarity with the couple Stela Surchicean and Alexandr Vinitchii, who have been on a hunger strike outside the Embassy since Saturday, June 12. The parents of Ilie Cazac, who was arrested by the Transnistrian security forces on charges of treason, request the intervention of the Russian government to free their son, of whom the family hasn't heard any news since he was arrested in March. “The Russian Federation is a mediator in the 5+2 talks. The arrogance and the passivity shown about Ilie Cazac's case, as well as about the case of journalist Ernest Vardanyan and other people who have been illegally arrested, maltreated and tortured by the Tiraspol regime, makes it an accomplice to the this crime”, declared Ion Guzun, IDOM project coordinator. Ghenadie Brega, Hyde Park member, said that the only authority that is allowed to move freely across the breakaway region and which has, in fact, “100% control” over Transnistria is Russia, which should put pressure on the Tiraspol authorities to ensure respect for human rights in that area. “There are suppositions that Ilie Cazac might be tortured or, God forbid, might be dead, and Moscow's silence is another proof to that”, said Ion Manole, the chairman of “Promo-Lex”. Ilie Cazac's family suffers from intimidation and threats on the part of the Transnistrian authorities. Ilie's minor brother, Oleg Surchicean, says he was accosted several times by the Bender militsiya. Despite their deteriorating health on the sixth day of their hunger strike, Ilie's parents are determined to carry on until their son is set free.