Moldova: Rights Violations Spark OSCE Action
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly will adopt a resolution in Bucharest addressing the deteriorating human rights situation in Transnistria, Moldova, according to Radio România Actualități.
The resolution comes amid concerns raised by Promo-LEX, a human rights organisation, which reports a steady decline in human rights conditions in Transnistria for over three decades. This decline is marked by severe abuses and a pervasive climate of impunity. Promo-LEX experts further allege that prisoners are held in inhumane conditions.
The Promo-LEX report reveals that exercising fundamental rights and freedoms, such as freedom of expression, is deemed politically unacceptable in Transnistria. Authorities view such actions as threats to "security." As of January 1, at least 1,785 people were illegally detained in Transnistria. This translates to an alarmingly high incarceration rate, with roughly 450 people out of every 100,000 inhabitants imprisoned.
Promo-LEX lawyer Vadim Vieru pointed out that all legislation enforced in Transnistria is unconstitutional and contradicts Moldovan law. He added that the Tiraspol regime also manufactures numerous political cases. Vieru explained that Transnistria's penal code is highly punitive, with very harsh sentences. Imprisonment is the most common punishment, resulting in the region's significant incarceration rate.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
