Rodica Mahu freed

Rodica Mahu, the editor-in-chief of Jurnal de Chisinau, was freed by the police at about 2 p.m. The journalist was held up by men in civil clothing at about 11 a.m., while she was reporting from behind the Government's quarters for her on-line publication, Info-Prim Neo reports. The journalist says two policemen assaulted her behind the Government and forced her into a car. She was taken to the police to be identified and provide explanations. The reason invoked by the police to arrest her was: “You gather information to attack the Government's building.” The editor-in-chief says she was not hit by the police. Her colleagues say she is in a shock state and has not decided how she will further act. Later on April 8, several reporters from the investigative newspaper Ziarul de Garda were bullied by representatives of law-enforcing bodies, who did not introduce themselves. The journalists' hands were twisted behind, and they were threatened their cameras will be broken. The same day, Oleg Brega, a cameraman with Jurnal TV, was beaten up by people in civil clothing, as he was on duty. They impounded two video cameras from him. A cameraman from PRO TV Chisinau, Constantin Rogodantev, was aggressed by policemen the same evening, as he was filming how the police was retreating from behind the parliament, and was compelled to surrender his filmed tape.