Three centers for the provision of free legal and psychological assistance to the victims of torture were opened in Chisinau, Tiraspol and Comrat in the framework of the project “Say NO to Torture in Moldova All Together: Civil Society against Torture”. The centers provide consultancy to the victims of torture and ill-treatment and potential victims and members of their families.

The project is implemented by the Institute for Democracy (Comrat), in partnership with the National Institute for Women of Moldova (Chisinau) and the Media Center (Tiraspol), with support from the EU.

In a news conference at IPN, Nonna Mihalchan, coordinator in Chisinau, said that as part of the project, during two years and a half, the skills of employees of penitentiary institutions, police stations, temporary placement centers for persons with disabilities were improved, with considerable investments being made in their professional formation.

Andrei Borshevschi, head of the Board of the Institute for Democracy (Comrat), said there were staged 60 seminars in penitentiaries, remand prisons, hospitals etc. Work was also done with detainees. They were explained their rights and how they should act if they are subject to torture. The transmitted message is that any act of torture or another aggressive behavior carries liability, including criminal one.

A media information campaign was carried out in the framework of the project. Articles about the need to fight this scourge were disseminated through TV channels and print media.

The about 20 organizations that fight torture on both sides of the Nistru exchange experience and coordinate their activities. The goal is to help those who face acts or torture or ill-treatment and to exert pressure on the authorities so that they combat this phenomenon. Thirty seminars were organized for students of law faculties.

Luiza Doroshenko, director of the Media Center of Tiraspol, noted that as a result of the promoted actions, the notion of “torture” was introduced into the legislation of the Transnistrian region. This is a small, but very important step. The jurist and the psychologist work concomitantly with the beneficiaries of the center. Seventy-six cases of torture were made public through the mass media last year.