February 23 (SeeNews) - Unjustified use of police force during street protests, selective justice, discrimination of people with disabilities and limited media freedom continue to be some of the most pressing problems in Moldova, non-governmental organisation focusing on human rights Amnesty International said.
There is a sense of impotence in the face of corruption and deteriorating living standards continue to define the political climate in Moldova, prompting popular discontent and sporadic protests, Amnesty International said in the 2016/2017 edition of its report The State of the World’s Human Rights published on Tuesday.
A major banking scandal that implicated high-ranking public figures and underlined the extent of corruption at all levels of government has led to mass protests. Moldova has been trying to cope with a major banking crisis since November 2014, when about $1 billion (942 million euro) went missing from three of the country's banks. The sum was equal to about 16% of the impoverished ex-Soviet state's 2015 gross domestic product.
Demonstrations in the capital Chisinau and elsewhere remained peaceful, except for some minor clashes between protesters and police. However, in those few cases, the police response occasionally involved unnecessary or excessive use of force, including tear gas and batons, Amnesty noted.
Regarding media freedom in Moldova, Amnesty said that it was generally respected, but that concerns over independence persisted in light of the concentration of ownership in the hands of a few individuals, and at least two prominent critical journalists complained of anonymous threats.
Moldova made no progress to address structural causes of impunity for torture, while the prosecution of alleged perpetrators remained extremely rare. Amnesty pointed out that following former prime minister Vladimir Filat's arrest in October 2015 for his alleged involvement in the banking fraud, Filat’s family and lawyer have repeatedly alleged that he was ill-treated, including by being placed in solitary confinement where they said conditions amounted to torture. All requests for an independent visit to Filat, including by Amnesty International, were refused, even after his conviction, the NGO said.
Between January and June, 331 people complained to the Prosecutor’s Office about torture and other ill-treatment. Out of 19 torture-related cases in which courts gave decisions, 15 resulted in convictions but only two out of the 18 defendants convicted received custodial sentences.
According to Amnesty, Moldova marked some progress in the legislation area, as changes to the Criminal Procedure Code came into force in May, introducing stronger safeguards against arbitrary use of pre-trial detention and requiring noncustodial alternatives wherever possible.
Moldova advanced also in protecting the rights and ensuring the safety of sexual minorities participating in the biggest-ever Pride march in Moldova, which took place in May in Chisinau, involving around 300 participants. Some counter-demonstrators attempted to assault LGBTI rights activists, but the police provided an effective cordon but decided to evacuate the participants by bus just before the march reached its final destination.
However, people with disabilities still face discrimination in Moldova, Amnesty said. The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities asked the government to urgently end the institutionalization of people with disabilities in psychiatric and psycho-neurological residential institutions. Various laws allow the forced detention and non-consensual administration of psychiatric treatment for people with disabilities as well as the nonconsensual termination of pregnancies on the grounds of psychosocial or intellectual impairment, the report showed.
The tiny landlocked ex-Soviet state of some 3 million people has strong historical and political ties with its western neighbour Romania, with more than 75% of the population speaking Romanian. However, some 10% of the population living predominantly in the internationally unrecognised separatist republic of Transnistria, which broke away from Moldova in the 1990s, speak Russian and identify themselves as Russians.
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