The administration of the Transnistrian region decided to introduce criminal punishment for the submission of complaints about the violation of human rights to “national foreign courts, including those of the Republic of Moldova, or international courts”. Experts of Promo-LEX Association said the so-called supreme soviet of the Transnistrian region gave two readings to and adopted relevant amendments to the local penal code. This way, the persons who will complain to foreign institutions about abuses committed by representatives of the de facto bodies of the Transnistrian region risk a maximum jail term of ten years, IPN reports.

On February 22, 2022, Promo-LEX published a call by which it asked decision makers, including the Government of the Republic of Moldova, the OSCE Mission and the development partners, to take prompt action not to allow adopting a bill that limits the rights of the persons in the Transnistrian region, who want to file complaints about violations of their rights.

Despite the calls and warnings over this “bill”, the secessionist administration passed it. According to Promo-LEX, this fact points to the regime’s wish to institute a system for persecuting persons who will dare to pronounce on serious human rights violations in the region. This act runs counter to the statements of Transnistrian “officials” about the cooperation with foreign institutions and the constant support from which they benefit.

“In the current context of the war waged by Russia, which ensures the de facto jurisdiction of the region, and of the ignoring by this country of the international human rights formats, the institution of such measures by the secessionist administration will definitively isolate the region. Consequently, there are risks of unprecedented repercussions in the region and the definitive isolation of the region,” the Association noted in a press release.

Promo-LEX repeatedly calls on the Government of the Republic of Moldova and on the partner institutions to continue the efforts to monitor the human rights situation and to encourage the victims of human rights violations in the region to communicate illegalities. It also asks to exert pressures so that these radical measures are abandoned.