injured party and civil party ������������������������������������������������������������������� –������������������������������������������������������������������ unless it is relevant to emphasize the quality of the injured or civil party in the given context. The Trial Monitoring Programme focused on the application of human rights protections for victims and witnesses, particularly in cases of trafficking in human beings and domestic violence. Many of the guarantees provided by international standards and national law to victims and witnesses relate to the pre-trial stage of proceedings and thus fall outside of the scope of the Programme. Nonetheless, several cases monitored in the Programme allowed observations about the protection of the rights of victims and witnesses during trials, particularly with regard to the following: the right to physical security; the right to be treated with respect; the right to privacy; the right to adequate interpretation facilities; the right to legal assistance; and the right to timely examination of the case. 4.1. The Right to Physical Security “While respecting the rights of the defence, the protection of witnesses, their relatives and other persons close to them should be organized, where necessary, including the protection of their lives and personal security before, during and after trial.”149 The Criminal Procedure Code provides, “Where there are sufficient grounds to consider that the injured party, the witness or other persons taking part in proceedings and members of their families or their close relatives may be threatened with death, with the use of violence, with the deterioration or destruction of assets or with other illegal acts, the criminal investigative body and the court is bound to take the measures prescribed by the legislation for the protection of the life, health, honour, dignity and assets of these persons, and for identifying and holding persons responsible.”150 More specifically, national law provides for various urgent and protective measures that include personal protection, protection of the home, protection of a person’s goods, protection of identification data, interrogation with the use of special methods, change of identity, change of residence.151 Monitors observed several types of violations of victims’ rights during ���������������� both monitoring periods in ������������������������������������ both����������������������������� ��������������������������������� Chişinău and the ��������������� Southeast. ����������� In a series of instances the defendant directly threatened the victim. This occurred most frequently in trafficking and domestic violence cases. In these cases neither judge nor prosecutor took protective measure������������������������������������������������� s������������������������������������������������ or reprimanded the defendant. Even in cases in which the witness declared that the defendant had called him ����������������������������������� or her to ������������������������ influence ����������� his or her� testimony, neither the judge nor the prosecutor reacted������������������� to ������������������ the allegation. Vignette: The victim declared: “Honourable court, I do not trust anyone, I am afraid and now when I came to this office I am still anxious because the defendants are very influential people and they are threatening me.” To which the judge replied: “If you are afraid and anxious, why don’t you go to a doctor?” 149 ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� See Recommendation No. R (97) 13 concerning intimidation of witnesses and the rights of the defence, Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, adopted on 10 September 1997. 150 ������������������������������������������������������� See Art. 215 para. (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code. 151 ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� See for details Art.s 13 and 14 of the Law on Protection of Witnesses and Other Participants of the Criminal Proceedings, No.105 of 16 May 2008, which entered into force on 27 September 2008. 72