Torture and ill-treatment are widespread in Moldova – Amnesty International

At least 1 in 3 women around the world has been subjected to domestic violence, and each second case of femicide has been committed by husbands or boyfriends. These are findings of the annual Amnesty International (AI) Report that provides a comprehensive global overview of the state of the world's human rights, launched Wednesday, May 23, in Chisinau. The report, which covers 153 countries, documents human rights issues of concern to Amnesty International during 2006. The report also contains information on the state of human rights in Moldova. According to it, torture and ill-treatment were widespread and conditions in pre-trial detention were poor in Moldova in 2006. Despite the ratification of a number of treaties protecting women’s rights, men, women and children continued to be trafficked for forcible sexual and other exploitation, while measures to protect women against domestic violence were inadequate. At the same time, the report found that freedom of expression was restricted and opposition politicians were targeted in Moldova. The founder of AI Moldova, lawyer Veaceslav Turcan, confirmed at a press conference held on this occasion that Moldova do witnesses cases of torture and ill-treatment, bringing examples of persons tortured by policemen, of persecutions targeting opposition leaders. Turcan announced that AIM will soon initiate courses for human rights defenders. According to AIM director executive Evgheni Golosceapov, the launch of the Report took place simultaneously in tens of cities worldwide to raise public and governmental awareness of human rights abuses. The violations admitted in a country can easily migrate to other countries, Golosceapov said. 70% of the casualties in recent conflicts have been non-combatants - most of them women and children. AIM expressed its concern about the continuously rising trafficking in human beings. According to the report, roughly 2 million people are trafficked every year – the majority women and girls, with 137 countries receiving and 127 sending them. In 2006, 20,000 people were estimated to be on death row across the world, 3,861 people were sentenced to death in 55 countries, and 1,591prisoners were executed in 25 countries.