Young man maltreated in April 2009 to receive damages of 55,000 lei

The Supreme Court of Justice ruled in favor of Nicolae Bairactari, a young man who was maltreated by the police in April 2009, and awarded him damages of 55,000 lei, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting a communiqué from the Association “Promo-LEX”. The young man was arrested on the night of April 8, 2009 during the protests staged in the Great National Assembly Square. He was then ill-treated, humiliated and detained without food and elementary sanitary conditions. Nicolae Bairactari was held in penitentiary No. 13 in Chisinau in a cell with persons convicted of serious and very serious offenses. The humiliation continued there. His right to legal assistance was violated. On October 29, 2009, the young man was informed that the Chisinau Prosecutor’s Office ordered dropping the charges against him as his actions could not be regarded as offense. He appealed to court, demanding official apologies from the Prosecutor General’s Office and damages. The case was examined by the Rascani district court, then the Chisinau Court of Appeals and finally the Supreme Court of Justice, which obliged the state to pay 55,000 lei damages to the plaintiff. After the April 2009 protests, hundreds of protesting young people were taken by force to police stations, where they were maltreated and humiliated. This is the first case in which the court awarded damages.