Torture and ill-treatment in police custody remain widespread in Moldova

Torture and ill-treatment in Moldova remain widespread and systemic despite some initial legislative steps made by the government to change police practices in order to eradicate it, Amnesty International said today in its latest report titled “Moldova: Torture and ill-treatment: "It's just normal". According to Heather McGill, Amnesty International's researcher on Moldova, the information in this report has been gathered through visits to places of detention and interviews with victims of torture, lawyers, NGOs in the field and government officials. The low rates of conviction of police officers, the difficulties that victims face in lodging complaints mean that many perpetrators of torture and ill-treatment are not brought to justice, Heather McGill said. Amnesty International calls on the Moldovan government to increase safeguards against torture and other ill-treatment in police custody such as: shortening the detention period before being brought before a judge from 72 to 24 hours, suspension for the duration of the investigation of police officers for acts of torture or other ill-treatment, compulsory confidential medical examinations on arrival at places of detention, and others. There is also need for an independent mechanism that will investigate all allegations of ill-treatment by law enforcement officers, while all interrogations should be recorded on audio and video tape. Amnesty International also suggests that all the health professionals in detention places should be transferred from the subordination of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to that of the Health Ministry. According to Evghenii Golosceapov, Amnesty International Moldova’s Executive Director, 29 lawyers have participated since 2005 in seminars dedicated to torture prevention as part of the “Lawyers and Human Rights” Programme, with two more seminars of this kind to follow this year. Amnesty International has formulated a test containing questions with hidden answers and comments for police officers. This way they will have the opportunity to test their knowledge and learn more on the topic, Golosceapov said. Based on data from the Prosecutor General’s Office, in the first eight months this year there were registered 30 cases of torture.