Follow-up ofthe case MDA 170811

Conditions of detention amounting tocruel, inhuman and degrading treatment/ Lack of adequate medical attention/Fear for the safety

TheInternational Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has received new information and requests your URGENTintervention in the following situation intheRepublic of Moldova/ Region of Transnistria.

New information

TheInternational Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source andAntenna International, a member organisation of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, that Mr.Vitalie Eriomenco, a 42-year-old businessman from Vadul-lui-Voda, asuburb of Chisinau municipality, who was allegedly tortured and ill-treated incustody, remains detained inTiraspol prison n° 3 in poor conditions, without access to adequate medical care.Furthermore, since his arrest in March 2011, he has been denied access to hisfamily, despite six applications submitted to the authorities.

Accordingto the information received, Mr. Vitalie Eriomenco is detained in a wet andcold cell along with approximately 20 other individuals. It is reported thatthe prison authorities regularly place detainees infected with tuberculosis inthe cell. Although Mr. Vitalie Eriomenco requested on several occasions to havea medical examination after feeling sick, the prison authorities refused on theground that the prison’s hospital was not equipped to diagnose tuberculosis. Accordingto Mr. Vitalie Eriomenco’s lawyer who visited him beginning of October, his healthis poor and he has not received any adequate medical care. Furthermore, he wasreportedly told by the prison authorities that he was in a prison and not in asanatorium, and should therefore not expect to receive any preferential treatment.

Mr.Vitalie Eriomenco was remanded in custody by the Tiraspol court on 26 September2011, for 60 more days, until 29 November 2011. It is also reported that Mr.Vitalie Eriomenco’s lawyer continues to suffer obstacles when visiting Mr.Vitalie Eriomenco in prison. All meetings are allegedly recorded on camera bythe guardians.

OMCT reiteratesits deep concerns about the safety and physical and psychological integrity ofMr. Vitalie Eriomenco, andcalls on the de facto Transnistrian authorities to guarantee his safety at alltimes, including by providing immediate adequate medical care.

Background information

OMCThad earlier been informed aboutthe alleged torture and ill-treatment suffered by Mr. Vitalie Eriomenco, the lack of aneffective investigation into the aforementioned allegations and the absence ofadequate medical assistance.

According to the information received, on 29 March2011, Mr. Vitalie Eriomenco was arrested without a warrant at work, in Slobozia, by six men in plain clothes, members of theDepartment for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of the Ministry ofInterior ofthe unrecognized Transnistrianauthorities (Pridnestrovian MoldavianRepublic[1] or PMR, alsoknown as "Pridnestrovie"), oncharges of theft. Shortly after Mr. VitalieEriomenco's arrest, his homewas searched with no mandate and his home keys were confiscated. His wife andtwo children were reportedly woken up and forced to leave the house withouttaking any clothes or items. Mr. Vitalie Eriomenco’s wife and children arereportedly still forbidden to enter the house.

Accordingto the same information received, Mr. Vitalie Eriomenco was interrogated for about ten hours after hisarrest. During the interrogations, he was allegedly ill-treated, denied accessto a lawyer and threatened that his son would be arrested if he refused torecognize the alleged theft of 12’000$ from his own business. Fearing for thesafety of his family, Mr. Vitalie Eriomenco reportedly signed a documentconfessing to the alleged crime. He was subsequently detained in the basementof the Tiraspol pre-trial detentioncentre (SIZO), in conditions amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. He was kept ina humid cell, without ventilation or adequate access to sanitation, and water.

During the two first days of hisdetention, Mr. Vitalie Eriomenco was also reportedly forced to sign a documentrenouncing to his right to legal counsel and stating that he would representhimself before court. On 31 March 2011, he was allowed to be assisted by alawyer, albeit chosen by the authorities and from the Transnistrian region. Mr.Vitalie Eriomenco’s parentssubsequently hired another lawyer from Moldova,who was allowed to work on Mr. Vitalie Eriomenco’s case. However, this latter has reportedly suffered severalobstacles, including limited access to Mr. Vitalie Eriomenco in detentionand to documents.

On 1 April 2011, Mr. Vitalie Eriomenco was remanded in custody for 60 days on charge of “theftof large amount” after he appeared at the Tiraspol court. He was again remanded in custody for 60 dayson 26 June 2011. On 11 May 2011, Mr. Vitalie Eriomenco had reportedly made a writtenrequest to the criminal investigator for a new hearing to denounce that hisconfession was obtained under duress. However, the request was dismissed. He was then transferred to Tiraspol prison n° 3.

According to the same information, Mr. Vitalie Eriomenco has been suffering, for many years, fromseveral chronic diseases, including a stomach ulcer, urinary infections, prostatitis,neurological and heart problems, which require a regular medical follow-up anda specific diet. It is reported that his health has worsened since hisdetention due to the lack of adequate medical care and poor conditions ofdetention (including limited access to sanitation and lack of adequate food,dark, cold and overcrowded cell). He has reportedly only received the medicineshe was taking before his arrest after being transferred to the prison’shospital, on 8 June 2011. Once at the hospital, he was alsoreportedly forced to undergo a medical psychiatric and neurologicalexamination. To date, the results thereof remain unknown, despite that Mr. VitalieEriomenco’s lawyer filed a request to obtain the legaljustification and the results of the examination.

Actions requested

Please write to the de facto authorities of the Region of Transnistria (so-called Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic), the authorities of the Republic ofMoldova and the Russian Federation, and urging them to:

i. Guarantee, in allcircumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Vitalie Eriomenco and of his family;

ii. Grant Mr. Vitalie Eriomenco unrestricted access to his lawyer and his family, as well as guaranteethat he is promptly examined by independent doctors and receives adequate andfree medical care, in accordance with, inter alia, the UN Standard MinimumRules for the Treatment of Prisoners;

iii. Order his immediaterelease;

iv. Carry out a prompt,effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into these events,in particular the allegations of torture and ill-treatment inflicted on Mr. Vitalie Eriomenco, the result of which must be made public, in order to bring thoseresponsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and applypenal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law ;

v. Ensure that adequate, effective and prompt reparation,including adequate compensation and rehabilitation, is granted to the victimconcerned.

Addresses

De facto Transnistrian authorities:

· IgorSmirnov, President of Transnistria, MD-3300, ул. 25 Октября, 45, for on-line petitions: http://president.pmr-gov.org/anketa.Tiraspol, Republic of Moldova;

· RogojinaL. P., Presidential Administration, MD-3300, nr 45, 25-Oktyabrya str., Tiraspol, Republic of Moldova; tel:(373533) 6-27-36; tel/fax: (373 533) 9-72-44;

· VladimirAntyufeev, Ministery of State Security, MD-3300, 42 Manoilova str., Tiraspol, Republic of Moldova; priem@mgb-pmr.org; tel/fax: (373 533) 94627

· StepanovS., Ministry of Justice, MD-3300,26 Lenina str., Tiraspol, Republic of Moldova; tel.: (373 533) 8-17-53, 9-20-41; inbox@justice.idknet.com

· AnatoliGuretski, Prosecutor of Transnistria,MD-3300, Tiraspol, 383 Liebknechtstr., Republic of Moldova; tel.: (373 533) 9-51-47,9-44-84; fax: (373 533) 9-44-92;

· Rimari V.S.,Chairman of the Supreme Court,MD-3300, 29. Iunosti str., Tiraspol, Republic of Moldova; тел./факс: (373-533) 2-50-06, for on-linepetitions: http://vspmr.org/mailform.php;

· Kaminski A.V., Chairman of the Supreme Soviet (LocalParliament),MD-3300, ул. 25 Октября, 45,., Tiraspol, Republic of Moldova; kav@vspmr.org;

Republic of Moldova:

· Vlad Filat, Prime Minister of Republic of Moldova, Chisinau, Piaţa Marii Adunări Naţionale 1, Tel. (+373 22) 250 101; for on-line petitions: http://www.gov.md/feedbacktxt.php?l=en&idc=439

· ZubcoValeriu, General Prosecutor, Republic of Moldova, Chisinau, str. BanulescuBodoni26 ; tel/fax.: (+ 373 22) 212 032; email: procuror@procuratura.md, for on-line petitions: http://www.procuratura.md/md/exp2/

Russian Federation:

· Mikhail AlexandrovichFedotov, Chairman of the Presidential Human Rights Commission of the RussianFederation, 103132, Moskva, Staraya pl., d 8/5, pod 3, Fax: +7 (495) 20 64855;

· Vladimir Lukin, Russian Federal Ombudsmanfor Human Rights, , Fax: +7 495 207-74-70;

· Permanent Mission of theRussian Federation to the United Nations in Geneva Av. de la Paix 15, CH-1211,Geneva 20, Switzerland, E-mail: mission.russian@ties.itu.int, fax: +41 22 734 40 44;

Please also write to the embassies of the Republic of Moldova and ofthe Russian Federation in yourrespective country.

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Geneva, 20 October 2011

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quotingthe code of this appeal in your reply.

[1] The Transnistrianregion broke away from Moldova, declaringindependence unilaterally in 1990. The self proclaimed PridnestrovianMoldavian Republic (PMR) is not recognized by theinternational community.