Four Moldovan human rights organizations issued a joint statement to condemn the dispersion of a tent protest outside the Parliament building as a “violation of the right to freedom of assembly by the public authorities”.
Amnesty International Moldova, the Policy and Reform Center, Promo-LEX and the Human Rights Embassy NGO branded the measure as “disproportionate”. According to them, there was no legal basis for removing the tents installed on the sidewalk, as they were part of “a peaceful protest and did not block the movement of pedestrians or access routes to public buildings”.
“We call on the organizers, the local public authority, together with the police and the Carabinieri, to establish effective communication so as to ensure a peaceful and responsible conduct of the rally. The public authorities must explain and justify very clearly what was the necessity of dispersing the protest in front of the Parliament and what was the alternative offered to the peaceful protesters. The public authorities must also justify the confiscation and destruction of the belongings of the participants in the rally”, the statement reads.
The four NGOs emphasize that freedom of assembly is a crucial right in a democratic society, and the limitation of this right can only take place in certain circumstances provided by the Constitution and the human rights international documents to which the Republic of Moldova is a party.
On Sunday, the police removed the tents set up by the protesters of the Shor Party on Ștefan cel Mare Boulevard, outside the Parliament and the Presidential Palace. The law enforcement cited the decision of the Extraordinary Situations Commission as a justification.
