Ministry of Justice denies existence of prisoners sick with TB in Bender penitentiary

The Ministry of Justice asks the parties involved in the talks in the 5+3 format to settle the dispute over the penitentiary No. 8 in Bender. No person suffering from tuberculosis is held there and there is no risk of infection, the Ministry says in a communiqué issued on June 2. From May 28, several dozens of persons have protested in Bender, demanding that the prison is moved to a place outside the town, Info-Prim Neo reports. “No person sick with tuberculosis is held in the penitentiary No. 8 in Bender. Since 2003, the prisoners suffering from tuberculosis have been treated in the specialized section of the Pruncul penitentiary hospital and in Rezina,” the communiqué says. The Ministry of Justice describes the protests as attempts by the separatist authorities to block the activity of the penitentiary, which were initiated in the spring of 2002, when the prison started to be disconnected from the electric power and water supply. To prove that there is no risk of infection, the Ministry makes reference to the conclusions of the international experts that inspected the penitentiary No. 8 in Bender. “Experts of the World Health Organization, who were asked by the Moldovan authorities to examine the prison through the agency of the OSCE, ascertained in 2004 that the penitentiary does not pose a danger as there is no risk of infection. The OSCE informed about this the administration of Bender municipality,” the communiqué reads.