Minors in Lipcani penitentiary claim violation of right to conditional release before term

The minors held in the Education Penitentiary in Lipcani claim that the stipulations of article 92 of the Penal Code regarding the conditional release before the full sentence has been served are not observed. Ombudsman Ivan Cucu, co-founder of the Centre for Human Rights, paid a fact-finding visit to the penitentiary following numerous petitions from detainees. According to Ivan Cucu, most of the heard prisoners expressed their disagreement with the harshness of the punishments. Many of them said that the Prosecutor General’s Office hinders the implementation of the provisions regarding conditional release. The penitentiary’s administration explained that a list of 80 prisoners was sent to the Prosecutor’s Office last September for reviewing their sentences under the amendments introduced by the Parliament. In consequence, it was not possible to prepare the documents necessary for conditional release and to present them to the court for examination. “The Prosecutor General’s Office was notified of this so as it removes the violations that run counter to the Constitution of Moldova and to the international legislation,” a communiqué from the Centre for Human Rights reads. Article 92 of the Penal Code says that the persons that serve their sentence in prison and that repaired the damage caused by the offences which they were convicted of can be set free conditionally before they have served the full sentence. There are 177 minors in the Education Penitentiary in Lipcani at present.