In the illegal detention institutions of the Transnistrian region, 1,325 people were incarcerated at the beginning of 2026. According to a report by Promo-LEX, the incarceration rate in the Transnistrian region is approximately 296 detainees per 100,000 inhabitants, above the level on the right bank of the Dniester and more than twice as high as the average of the member states of the Council of Europe. Promo-LEX maintains that these data reflect the excessive and arbitrary use of detention in a system devoid of procedural guarantees, reports IPN.

The second monitoring report of the Promo-LEX Association on the human rights situation in the region, covering the period from April 1 to June 30, signals that individuals in detention are held in precarious conditions, marked by underfunding, lack of medication and limited access to medical care. The daily cost of maintaining a detainee is 157.3 lei, compared to 410.3 lei on the right bank of the Nistru, and the number of doctors and medical assistants in prisons has decreased by about 30% in the last three years.

At the same time, the report highlights the intensification of militarization and propaganda among children. Approximately 15 thousand children enrolled in kindergartens on the left bank of the Dniester and in the city of Bender participate in activities promoting military and Russian symbols. Only at the military-patriotic festival organized on May 8 in Tiraspol, 2,790 preschoolers and students participated.

According to Promo-LEX, Soviet rituals and symbols have been reintroduced in schools, including activities dedicated to the pioneer organization, and students have participated in thematic lessons and visits to museums with a propagandistic character. At the same time, hundreds of teenagers aged between 14 and 16 were involved in military-sport competitions that included military training exercises, shooting and tactical demonstrations.

The report also shows that ideological influence exceeds the limits of the region. During the period of May-June 2026, the first group of children from the Transnistrian region was sent to the “Artek” camp in occupied Crimea, an institution internationally sanctioned for its involvement in the deportation and alleged “reeducation” of Ukrainian children. Over the past nine years, more than 100 children from the region have participated in the programs of this center.

Promo-LEX also notes an intensification of anti-reintegration propaganda. According to the organization’s monitoring, the media controlled by Tiraspol promoted messages during the analyzed period suggesting that the reintegration of the Republic of Moldova would mean “genocide”, “extermination”, “occupation” or “forced romanization”, while the so-called “ministry of security” published a list of 19 independent media platforms, warning the population not to collaborate with them.

The Promo-LEX report concludes that the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region continues to deteriorate due to repressive measures, economic crisis, and intensifying propaganda, and the constitutional authorities must strengthen dialogue with the region’s inhabitants and prepare for a possible increase in public service requests from the right bank of the Dniester.