During the visit, the delegation examined the treatment, conditions of detention, and safeguards afforded to persons deprived of their liberty by the police, and the situation of persons held in several prisons, including women, juveniles and life-sentenced prisoners. The delegation also held several meetings with prosecutors at different levels to discuss the action taken to investigate reports of injuries sustained by prisoners and persons in police custody. Particular attention was paid during the visit to the measures taken by the authorities to implement recommendations made by the Committee after its previous visits.
In the course of the visit, the delegation held consultations with Vladislav Cojuhari, Minister of Justice, Dumitru Vleju, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Alexandru Bejan, State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Sergiu Russu, Deputy Prosecutor General, Stela Branişte, Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice, Alexandru Adam, Director of the National Prison Administration, Lilian Carabeț, Deputy Director of General Police Inspectorate, and other senior officials from the various ministries and services concerned.
The delegation also met Ceslav Panico, People’s Advocate (Ombudsperson), Vasile Coroi, People’s Advocate for the Rights of the Child, and senior representatives of their office, as well as other representatives of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) established under the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT).
At the end of the visit, the delegation presented its preliminary findings to the Moldovan authorities.
The visit was carried out by the following CPT members:
- Vânia Costa-Ramos (Head of delegation)
- Ewa Dawidziuk
- Gaëlle Taillé
- Ceyhun Qaracayev
- Dmytro Yagunov
- Elisabetta Zamparutti
They were supported by Petr Hnátík, Laura Ielciu and Oana Moldovean of the CPT Secretariat and assisted by two experts, Marius Caruana, medical doctor, Lead Doctor of the Migrant Health Service in Malta, and Hans Wolff, medical doctor, Head of the Division of Prison Health at the Geneva University Hospitals (Switzerland).
The delegation visited the following places of deprivation of liberty:
Police detention facilities
- Bălți Police Inspectorate
- Chișinău Police Department
- Orhei Police Inspectorate
- Hîncești Police Inspectorate
Prisons
- Prison no. 7 in Rusca for women
- Prison no. 9 in Pruncul
- Prison no. 10 in Goian for juveniles
- Prison no. 11 in Bălți
- Prison no. 15 in Cricova
- Prison no. 17 in Rezina
The delegation also carried out a targeted visit to Prison no. 13 in Chișinău to interview newly admitted remand prisoners.
