Ilie Cazac’s parents give up protest

After 60 days of protest, Ilie Cazac decided to give up. Stela Surkichean managed to see her son, who was arrested by the Transnistrian authorities in March, and obtained the right to employ a lawyer for Ilie. Ilie Cazac’s parents do not yet know where they will go after they take down the tent they put up in front of the Russian Embassy. They do not have relatives in Chisinau and are afraid to return home in Bender as they might be arrested, Info-Prim Neo reports. In a news conference on August 11, Ilie’s mother Stela Surkichean said she talked to her son for more than an hour at the head office of the Transnistrian security ministry in Tiraspol on August 9. “His face and eyes were yellow. He said he has pains in the abdomen. I saw no signs of torture on his body, but he may be tortured psychically,” Stela Surkichean said. When she asked Ilie about the investigation, he made a sign to keep silent. Stela Surkichean said her son warned her not to believe the confessions he may make under pressure. “He is informed as he listens to the radio and reads Moldovan newspapers, but wants to have a TV set as well. He asked me to thank Ambassador Philip Remler for the care he shows to him,” she said. Stela Surkichean was accompanied to Tiraspol by two observers of the OSCE Mission in Moldova. The meeting took place after Stela Surkichean sent a letter to the head of the Transnistrian security ministry Vladimir Antiufeev. Ilie’s mother also had a meeting with the officer who is investigating Ilie’s case. “They do not find proofs to charge him. Therefore, they have held him for about half a year and extended the arrest warrant against him. We are sure that our son is a victim. A criminal case was started against him by someone’s order,” she said. Alexandr Vinitski, Ilie’s father, said that the secret services are looking for false witnesses against the young man even among his colleagues and friends. They said that besides spying for Moldova, Ilie is accused of not doing his military service in the Transnistrian army. He attended military courses in Chisinau. Though they are glad that their son is alive, Stela Surkichean and Alexandr Vinitski are concerned because they don’t know where to stop in Chisinau after they take down their tent. They said they are afraid to return to Bender because the EU Special Representative for Moldova Kalman Mizsei told them Vladimir Antiufeev intends to arrest them when they enter Transnistria. Stela Surkichean and Alexandr Vinitski said they may resume the protest if the last arrest warrant that expires on September 20 is again extended, but will have more supporters alongside this time. Ilie Cazac’s parents have protested in front of the Russian Embassy in Chisinau for 60 days. They demanded that the Russian authorities intervene and help release Ilie Cazac, who was arrested for betraying the state and spying for Moldova. The 24-year-old man faces up to 20 years behind bars and confiscation of the property.