CAT/C/MDA/CO/3
is concerned that, despite the enactment of a joint order and regulation on identifying and
reporting cases of alleged torture and ill-treatment, none of the many officials subject to
that order who saw Mr. Braguta with visible injuries over a period of 10 days reported his
case to the unit for combating torture in the Prosecutor General’s Office, which learned of
Mr. Braguta’s death from the media (arts. 2, 4, 11–13 and 16).
14.
The State party should:
(a)
Issue a public statement at the highest level unambiguously reaffirming
its zero tolerance policy regarding impunity for acts of torture and ill-treatment and
stating that investigations will be carried out and prosecutions promptly initiated
against perpetrators of torture and those complicit in such acts;
(b)
Ensure that all reports of torture and ill-treatment involving public
officials and non-official accomplices are investigated promptly, effectively and
impartially by an independent mechanism with no institutional or hierarchical
connection to the investigators or the alleged perpetrators;
(c)
Ensure that persons under investigation for having committed acts of
torture or ill-treatment are immediately suspended from their duties and remain so
throughout the investigation;
(d)
Establish protocols and train police staff, prosecutors, judges, prison
staff and all staff involved in providing health services on methods of interaction with
persons with mental and psychosocial disabilities, and incorporate the Manual on the
Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Istanbul Protocol) into all training
programmes for law enforcement officials. In cases where signs of torture or illtreatment are recorded during a medical examination, whether by State-employed or
independent doctors, ensure that prompt and independent investigations are initiated;
(e)
Transfer responsibility for temporary detention facilities from the
Ministry of Internal Affairs to the Ministry of Justice as a measure to prevent torture
and ill-treatment, as recommended by the Committee in its previous concluding
observations (see CAT/C/CR/30/7, para. 6 (i) and CAT/C/MDA/CO/2, para. 9);
(f)
Ensure, in law and in practice, that every person has access to an
independent and effective complaints mechanism regarding torture and ill-treatment
by law enforcement officials that will investigate and respond promptly, and make
this complaints mechanism publicly known;
(g)
Ensure that officials are subjected to disciplinary measures for failure to
investigate complaints of torture or ill-treatment adequately or for refusing to
cooperate in investigating any such complaints;
(h)
Ensure that impartial and effective investigations are undertaken into
allegations of torture and ill-treatment stemming from the post-election violence of 7
April 2009;
(i)
Ensure that the allegations surrounding Mr. Braguta’s death, including
the alleged complicity of officials in his beating and in the denial of prompt medical
care, allegations of medical negligence, and reported failure by many officials to
report evidence of his treatment to the appropriate authorities, are effectively and
impartially investigated and that the perpetrators are prosecuted.
National preventive mechanism
15.
While noting the adoption of Law No. 52 on the People’s Advocate (Ombudsman)
and the subsequent establishment of a council on the prevention of torture to serve as the
national preventive mechanism under the Optional Protocol to the Convention, the
Committee is concerned that:
(a)
The legal framework is ambiguous as to whether the council is an advisory
body to the Ombudsman, who serves as the actual national preventive mechanism, or an
independent collegial body serviced by the Office of the Ombudsman, of which the
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