More than 4,000 people who are in illegal detention in the localities controlled by the regime in Tiraspol are facing even more difficult conditions due to the energy crisis that has affected the left bank of the Nistru. The detainees have been without heat for eight days, after the gas heating system of the penitentiaries was turned off on January 1, 2025, following the disconnection from the natural gas network. Under these conditions, the situation in Transnistrian penitentiaries has worsened considerably, Promo-LEX lawyer Vadim Vieru told Radio-Moldova, IPN reports.
"The detainees are now in extremely difficult conditions, without heat, and access to penitentiaries for monitoring is impossible. It is a serious situation given that the Moldovan authorities cannot intervene directly!", explained Vieru. According to him, it is not known if the detainees are allowed to use improvised electrical installations, but it is clear that the central heating systems no longer work.
The Bureau for Reintegration Policies of the Republic of Moldova warned that these conditions of illegal detention risk deteriorating further during this period. "The conditions in the penitentiaries in the Transnistrian region were very difficult even before the energy crisis and now the situation could worsen," said officials of the Bureau, who added that these penitentiaries remain inaccessible for monitoring by the constitutional authorities of the Republic of Moldova.
In parallel, the energy crisis is also affecting other essential institutions, such as hospitals and centers for vulnerable people, and people's fundamental rights, including access to health, food and water, are under a serious threat. Ombudsman Ceslav Panico stressed that the Ombudsman’s Office is carefully monitoring the situation in the region, but the Transnistrian authorities’ refusal to cooperate makes it difficult to intervene.
"We do not have clarity on the strategy of the authorities in Tiraspol, and the situation risks worsening in the coming days, when energy resources will be about to run out," added Panico.
Lawyer Vadim Vieru believes that the current humanitarian crisis in the Transnistrian region is an intentional tool used by the Russian Federation to destabilize the Republic of Moldova. He stresses the need for the Moldovan authorities to adopt urgent solutions to support the affected population and to start a dialogue with Tiraspol to prevent an even more serious crisis.
