Violations of freedom of opinion and speech can not be tolerated – ombudsmen

The ombudsmen in Moldova are concerned about the incident that occurred on March 27, when two PRO TV reporters were detained by police, while filming an event in Chisinau. Later the crew of the TDV channel was intimidated and their camera tape taken and erased. According to a press release from the Centre for Human Rights, these events arouse concerns and can not be tolerated in a democratic state governed by the rule of law, where the human rights and freedoms, including freedom of opinion and speech, are the greatest values and are guaranteed. Moldovan ombudsmen call on all the authorities whose mission is to examine the cases related to the abusive intervention of the law enforcement bodies against the freedom of opinion and speech, as well as the freedom of assembly. A number of media organisations and political parties condemned the police’s intervention on Tuesday, when several participants in the event organised to celebrate the 89th anniversary of the unification of Romania with Basarabia were detained by police. Two reporting crews were arrested as well.