February 22 (SeeNews) - Unfair trials, sexual minorities and Roma discrimination, homophobic statements and limited media freedom continue to be some of the most pressing problems in Moldova, human rights-focused non-governmental organisation Amnesty International said.
In June, the former leader of Our Home – Moldova political party, Grigore Petrenco, and eight fellow political activists were convicted of attempting to organise mass disturbances. They received conditional prison sentences and were prohibited from attending public events, Amnesty International recalled in the 2017/2018 edition of its report The State of the World’s Human Rights published on Thursday.
Petrenco’s lawyers, who also defended other high-profile clients in politically sensitive cases, continued to be subjected to smear campaigns in pro-government media, and reported harassment by the authorities in connection with their work, the NGO said.
Most of the mainstream media remained effectively controlled by and biased towards the Democratic Party of Moldova, the report also stated.
Also, allegations of torture and other ill-treatment in places of detention and in Moldova's criminal justice system continued to be reported throughout 2017.
The authorities continued to discriminate against sexual minorities in 2017, the report showed. In May, the police cut short the Pride march after the demonstrators had walked just a few hundred metres, stating that they were unable to guarantee their security in the event of violent attacks by counter-demonstrators. Moreover, Moldova's president Igor Dodon publicly criticised the LGBTI community and described the Pride march as running counter to the country’s "traditional values".