Moldovan Government loses another two cases in Strasbourg

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has announced today two judgements penalising the Government of Moldova in the cases “Malahov v. Moldova” and “Gutu v. Moldova”. In the first case, the Court held that there have been violations of articles 6 (right to a fair trial) and 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the Convention on Human Rights. The applicant, Antonina Malahov, alleged that the domestic courts' refusal to examine her claims due to her inability to pay court fees had violated her rights and that she had been discriminated against because of her ethnicity. Consequently, the Government will have to pay 2,400 euros for non-pecuniary damages and costs. In the second case, Tatiana Gutu alleged that she had been subjected to police abuses. The Strasbourg-based Court found that there have been violations of four articles of the Convention. ECHR awarded to the applicant 6,500 euros for non-pecuniary damages and costs. To date, the Moldovan Government lost over 60 cases at ECHR, being obliged to pay damages of more than 700,000 euros.