A/HRC/13/39/Add.6 Republic of Moldova Follow-up to the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur (Manfred Nowak) in the report of his visit to the Republic of Moldova from 4 to 11 July 2008 (A/HRC/10/44/Add.3 para. 90) 67. By letter dated 23 October 2009, the Special Rapporteur sent the following report to the Government of the Republic of Moldova, requesting information and comments on the follow-up measures taken with regard to the implementation of his recommendations. He expresses his gratitude to the Government for providing comprehensive information in a letter dated 26 November 2009. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur wishes to thank the Government for sharing relevant information during his visit to the country in September 2009. 68. The situation with regard to torture and ill-treatment in the Republic of Moldova in 2009 was marked by the general elections held in April 2009, which were followed by violent clashes between security forces and demonstrators. In a communication sent on 17 April 2009, the Special Rapporteur expressed his concern about reports of alleged beatings and other forms of ill-treatment reportedly inflicted to more than one hundred persons (including minors) during arrest and in police custody in the context of the demonstrations. Two persons died, allegedly of injuries sustained in the course of the demonstrations or shortly afterwards. 69. In violation of the law establishing the Consultative Council as National Preventive Mechanism under OPCAT, the Council was denied access to several police detention facilities in Chisinau after the clashes. The members of the Council were granted access to penitentiary institution No.13 only after considerable delay. A number of detainees in that institution allegedly showed physical marks which corroborated their allegations of torture and ill-treatment. Furthermore, some of the detainees reported that they were held in inhuman conditions in police stations; they were denied food for two days and had only limited access to water and basic sanitary facilities. 70. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government for commenting on the above allegations. By letter dated 23 September 2009, the Government informed that in the course of the demonstrations, 111 persons had been arrested. According to the Government, immediately after the transfer of these persons from the police detention facilities to Penitentiary No. 13, they were examined by medical staff. 27 detainees bore various physical injuries. A group of prosecutors specifically tasked for investigating the April events has been created. According to the Government, the group examined 91 cases of physical injuries. During the visit of the Special Rapporteur in September 2009, the General Prosecutors’ Office (GPO) reported that 101 complaints were submitted, 51 for “application of force while detained” and 50 for “ill-treatment in police commissioners’ facilities”. The GPO has initiated 25 cases, and begun inquiry proceedings in 66 cases. Most of the cases are still under investigation. 71. Regarding conditions of detention, the Deputy Interior Minister acknowledged that seven preventive isolator facilities were not in compliance with the respective norms. A main recommendation by the Special Rapporteur – that of transferring isolators to the competence of the Ministry of Justice – has not yet been carried out because of a lack of resources. 72. With respect to the Transnistrian region, the Special Rapporteur remains highly concerned of persistent allegations of human rights violations in places of detention and psychiatric hospitals. He urges the de-facto authorities to implement important safeguards in criminal procedure to prevent torture and ill-treatment. 149