More cases of torture reported in Moldova in 2008 than in 2007

The number of cases of torture, as registered by the General Prosecutor's Office, has surged in 9 months of 2008 up to 215, compared with 194 during the whole last year. The data have been presented at a round table focusing on the implementation of the Istanbul Protocol, a document meant to assist specialists in identifying cases of torture and ill treatment, in investigating them and presenting them to courts. People perceive torture differently, that it why the Government must consider to resolve this severe social problem, said Ludmila Popovici, the executive manager of the Memoria Center rehabilitating torture victims. We have learnt a lot about torture and the consequences of the phenomenon for the last two decades, but we have had no international reference as documentation, Ludmila Popovici added. She intends to publish a manual about the Istanbul Protocol in 2009. It will include guidelines for effective investigation of torture and other forms of ill treatment or cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment. Lawyer Veaceslav Turcanu, a coordinator with Amnesty International, has said it's good to talk about torture starting from one's kindergarten. He says the NGOs need to work closer to reach the expected effects. The Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, commonly known as the Istanbul Protocol, is the first set of international guidelines for documentation of torture and its consequences. It became a United Nations official document in 1999. The Memoria Center rehabilitating torture victims provides medical, social and legal assistance to people who have become victims of torture and ill treatment because of different reasons.