As of the beginning of this year, at least 1,806 people were incarcerated in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova. According to a report by the human rights organization Promo-LEX, the incarceration rate in this territory is 451 prisoners per 100,000 population, by 16 more than last year. This is more than 4 times the European incarceration average and almost 2 times the one on the western bank of the Nistru River. This also represents the highest incarceration rate in Europe.
The incarceration rate depends on official population estimates, which stands at about 400,000 for the Transnistrian region. But Promo-LEX suggests the number could be lower.
Of the total of 50 judgments handed down by the European Court of Human Rights in the “Transnistrian cases”, in 29 (58%) the Court found a violation related to illegal deprivation of freedom and detention in inhumane conditions. According to Transnistria’s self-styled human rights officer, during 2022, 17 deaths were reported in the prisons of the region.
The report was compiled by Promo-LEX under the projects “Promoting respect for human rights in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova” and “Promoting respect for human rights in the Republic of Moldova, including in the Transnistrian region”, with the financial support of by the National Endowment for Democracy and the Soros Moldova Foundation.
