The public association “Honor, Dignity and Homeland” (Unirea - ODIP) will sue the Republic of Moldova at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Members of the association said they will complain about discriminatory treatment on the part of the police, violation of the right to assemble and to freedom of expression in a public event, IPN reports.
In a news conference at IPN on May 18, the leader of Unirea - ODIP Vlad Biletski said that unionists on May 17 put up a tent in central Chisinau, near a tent pitched by the Party of Socialists to collect signatures in favor of the dismissal of Dorin Chirtoaca from the post of mayor of Chisinau, with the intention of promoting Moldova’s union with Romania. Their act bothered Russian ethnics who approached the tent to sign for the referendum.
“We were repeatedly attacked, insulted and threatened with the use of physical force. We were warned by individuals to stop the assembly or we will suffer the consequences. Throughout the event, persons approached us and hindered us from distributing leaflets and walking on the street,” said Vlad Biletski.
According to the young man, when the unionists tried to talk to the Socialists, the latter called the police. The police officer who came to the scene didn’t present himself. He only listened to the position of the other side and arrested those accused based on a verbal complaint. “We will take this case to the ECHR as our basic rights were flagrantly violated. We were arrested illegally and were treated discriminatorily. Our right to an attorney was violated,” he explained.
Together with Vlad Biletski, there was arrested Ilie Cretu, chairman of the Liberal Party’s Youth Organization in Ciocana district. Cretu said their event disturbed the representatives of the Party of Socialists, who showed an inappropriate behavior towards the Romanian values that they promoted. “We repeatedly called the police when we were insulted and threatened, but no one came. At their request, an operational group came immediately. When I wanted to sign for the referendum, I was suspected of attempt to damage the lists of signatures. When the police came, they treated me like a person who caused public disorder and didn’t ask me what happened,” stated Ilie Cretu.
Unirea - ODIP leader Vlad Biletski and head of the Liberals’ Youth Organization in Ciocana Ilie Cretu were arrested in the evening of May 17 for causing public disorder. The two were taken to the police station where they wrote explanations and were released in three hours.
