The Government decided to institute a moratorium on the mechanism for reducing jail terms for poor detention conditions as a compensatory instrument until September. A bill to this effect was approved by the Cabinet in its February 12 meeting, IPN reports.
Minister of Justice Fadei Nagachevski said the bill is an emergency as over 5,000 persons of the about 6,700 who are held in jails in the Republic of Moldova submitted applications to have their jail terms cut by the compensatory instrument. During a year since the mechanism started to be implemented, over 1,000 detainees benefited from it. “Persons who represent a real danger to state security are set free,” stated the minister.
He noted that the mechanism and its impact will be assessed by September and a decision will be taken as to how to further implement this instrument. It will be either adjusted or will be abolished. The applications filed so far will be examined in accordance with the legislation that was in force when these were submitted.
During hearings staged by the Parliament’s commission on national security, defense and public order last week, acting director of the National Administration of Penitentiaries Vladimir Cojocaru said the judges apply different formulas when calculating terms, mainly in the case of persons in remand detention. Under some of the decisions, a day of remand detention in poor conditions is equal to a two-day reduction in the jail term. But there are also decisions by which the jail term is reduced by three days for one day of remand detention.
Ex-Premier Vlad Filat, who was sentenced to nine years in jail for influence peddling and passive corruption in 2015, was released on parole based on the compensation mechanism last December. His jail term was reduced for the degrading conditions in which he was held at Penitentiary No. 13.
