Transnistrian region tends to become a human rights “black hole” in Europe, PACE members

Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) expressed their concern about the situation of human rights in Moldova's secessionist region of Transnistria. They say that it has significantly worsened in the last months, with the de facto authorities proceeding to random and unlawful arrests, intimidating and threatening the representatives of the civil society and increasing the pressure on the mass-media and journalists, stressing the Transnistrian region tends to become a human rights "black hole" in Europe. In a statement, the PACE members say the arrests of Ernest Vardanean, an independent journalist, and Ilie Cazac, a tax officer, of Elena Dubrovitskaya, a 20 years old school graduate and Eugen Stirbu, President of the Central Electoral Commission of Moldova, are just a few examples in this regard. The signatories urge the Parliamentary Assembly and all member states of the Council of Europe to put pressure on the de facto authorities of the secessionist region of Transnistria to stop human rights violations, harassment and intimidation of representatives of the civil society and independent media, and to release the illegally detained citizens of the Republic of Moldova. The statement was signed by 30 PACE members from different member states of the Council of Europe and different parliamentary groups.