Likewise, the legislator established that the executive-criminal legislation is applied in accordance
with the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and with the international treaties to which the
Republic of Moldova is a party. If there are inconsistencies between the regulations of international
treaties in the field of fundamental human rights and freedoms to which the Republic of Moldova is
a party and the provisions of this code, the regulations of international treaties have priority. Thus,
Article 1671 of the Executive Code expressly provides that it is prohibited to subject any person
serving a sentence of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or other ill-treatment.
Among the rights stipulated in the provisions of Art. 169 of the Executive Code at letter b)
of par.1) is stipulated the right to defense and observance by the institution or body that ensures the
execution of the punishment of the dignity, rights and freedoms it has, including not to be
subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
In his previous remarks, the Ombudsman mentioned that all the penitentiaries in the country
are of an old architecture and an organization not adapted to human detention as such. Large spaces
(barracks type) influence both the observance of the detention regime by detainees, their health and
their ability to participate in resocialization programs. More than 80% of convicts spend time inside
institutions due to lack of jobs and other forms of employment. In fact, penitentiaries do not have /
have limited occupational areas specific and useful to detainees. The aspect of "resocialization" is
maintained in the process of recording written documentation, rather than a succession of actions in
this field. And the effort of the penitentiary authorities in this regard is still minimal.
At present, the detention of persons can easily be qualified as detention contrary to Art. 3 of
the European Convention and case-law. These findings have been repeatedly drawn by the UN
Committee Against Torture (2014, 2017), the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture
(2015-2019), the People's Advocate (2002-2019) and the Council for the Prevention of Torture
(2017-2019).
In 2019, the NPA managed to purchase beds, nightstands, tables and chairs worth MDL 8
million. The furniture was distributed in penitentiaries and is to replace worn, defective equipment,
etc. Also, hygiene products, bed linen, food preparation equipment were purchased, which has not
been done in recent years.
The People's Advocate registered 851 applications from detainees, invoking inappropriate
conditions of detention; overcrowding; insufficient and poor quality food; lack of effective medical
care (lack of medicines, lack of doctors, medical equipment), dental pain; unsanitary hygiene
151
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents