There was beating, 'but not like in Europe'

Valeriu Boboc, the young man who died after the April 7 protests, received severe bodily injuries after beaten with a hard object. The Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the case to identify the persons to blame, Prosecutor General Valeriu Gurbulea said at a meeting of the Board for Coordinating the Activities Aimed at Preventing Criminality and Corruption held on Thursday. Gurbulea said that on the night of April 8, Valeriu Boboc was taken from the Great National Assembly Square. Later, he was taken to the Emergency Hospital in a police car. The doctors established that he was dead. “Legal action was immediately taken over this case,” Gurbulea said. He said that the first version according to which the young man got poisoned with an unknown substance was formulated by the Prosecutor’s Office on the basis of the death certificate issued by medical examiners. The doctors explained that no other version existed at that time as a series of medical tests have not been carried out, the Prosecutor General said. Valeriu Gurbulea also said that he has not yet received the results of the repeated medical examination and denied the assertions that the General Prosecutor’s Office intends to hide the results of the investigation. The Prosecutor General also denied that another three young persons discovered dead after April 7 had died after beaten by the police. He reiterated the official versions announced earlier in every case: Maxim Canishchev was found dead in the Ghidighici lake. In his home, the police found a letter where the young man says goodbye to his close persons; Eugen Tapu strangled himself with his own shoestrings, while Ion Tabuleac jumped from a pillar. Valeriu Gurbulea said that 173 persons were detained, but only 117 arrested. However, the Deputy Minister of the Interior Valentin Zubic presented other figures: the administrative arrest of 206 persons. Gurbulea also said that 96 persons filed complaints, saying that they were maltreated by the police. Only ten applications have been examined. Four legal cases were started over misuse of power, causing of medium bodily injuries, etc. He argued that the investigations went slow because there was much fuss around these issues. According to Valentin Zubic, the police had to use force in the case of some persons. “Analyzing these events, we ascertained that the beats were not as severe as in other states, even European one,” he said, specifying that the medical examinations show that the injuries caused by the police officers were medium in six cases, while the rest were insignificant. He also said that no case of rape came out to be true, but three young women detained by the police were indeed treated rudely and the Prosecutor’s Office will pronounce on this. Zubic said that a number of video cameras were installed in penitentiaries as a precautionary measure. Minister of Justice Vitalie Parlog also reported on the consequences of the April 7 events. According to him, the European Court of Human Rights is examining five cases filed against Moldova. Anatol Matasaru, Gabriel Stati and Aurel Marinescu, Stepuleac Brothers, Sergiu Mocanu and other two persons who wished to remain anonymous while the cases are beinh investigated complained of inhuman treatment and lack of proofs for the arrest. The Government of Moldova expressed its position on the first three cases. On the other cases, it will pronounce until July 29 and, respectively, August 9, Parlog said. In the end, First Deputy Prime Minister Iurie Rosca, who heads the Board, admitted that some of the employees of the Ministry of the Interior misused their authority and demanded that all the cases be investigated and the persons to blame be held accountable. The members of the Board approved a draft decision, committing themselves to inform the population about the results of the investigations and be more transparent in their activity.