The text of the petition launched on www.curaj.net:
To the competent authorities of Republic of MOldova,
Anatol Mătăsaru is under preventive detention since the 8th of April. He was arrested in front of his house, without being presented any legal mandate. At the police office he was beaten and humiliated, after that he was moved in a prison without medical care, although he was in need of urgent medical treatment. Since April 24, Anatol declared a hunger strike.
We request urgent liberation and access to medical care for Anatol Mătăsaru. We also demand legality and transparency regarding his case and the cases of other persons, arrested during the post electoral protests.
use the link below if you wish to sign this petition:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/libertate-anatol-mtsaru
miercuri, 29 aprilie 2009
marți, 28 aprilie 2009
Write to Mătăsaru in prison
The next day after I found out about Anatol's hunger strike I sent him a letter to prison in which I basically had asked him to stop his hunger strike.
In fact, I wanted to send him a telegram, but I was told at the local post office that it was impossible to send telegrams from Poland to Moldova. The lady at the post office suggested to use the so called: EUSPRESS format. She also said that I could ask for a "notification of delivery" and that was exactly what I did. Recently I have received the confirmation, and although it is not signed by Mătăsaru but probably by somebody from the prison administration, it seems that Anatol got my letter...
You can write to him in prison as well:
Republic of Moldova, 2001, Chişinău, str. Bernardarzii, 3,
Penitenciarul nr.13,
pentru Anatol Mătăsaru
If you decide to send smth to A. Mătăsaru in jail, perhaps you would like to send a copy of the work/letter to this blog as well, (just in case) matasaruart@gmail.com
duminică, 26 aprilie 2009
Anatol Mătăsaru declared hunger strike, stil in prison
According to Anatol Mătăsaru's wife, Julieta Saviţchi, her husband declared a hunger strike on the 24th of April. He seems to be in a hunger strike for the third consecutive day. The police still didn't let her visit him in jail.
vineri, 24 aprilie 2009
Anatol Mătăsaru's case discussed at ECHR
Anatol Mătăsaru's lawyer, Victor Panţâru, brought his case to the European Court of Human Rights. The ECHR is investigating the case, and meanwhile the Court sent the following inquiry to the Government of Moldova:
Did the police use physical and mental abuse while Mr. Mătăsaru was in their custody? Did he receive appropriate medical treatment while in jail? The Government was also asked to answer if there was an investigation of the abuses that the plaintiff had reported on numerous occasions.
The government has to answer these questions by the 4th of June.
Currently the physical abuse of Mr. Mătăsaru stopped but he is still is being subjected to psychological pressure, said his lawyer in a press conference on April 24. The police wants him to confess to acts that he did not commit. Mr. Panţâru also said that apparently there had been a prosecutor talking to Mr. Mătăsaru about these abuses. However, the lawyer is very skeptical, he says that he doesn't believe that somebody would be punished for these abuses.
The 30 days detention period of Mr. Mătăsaru will expire by the beginning of May.
Did the police use physical and mental abuse while Mr. Mătăsaru was in their custody? Did he receive appropriate medical treatment while in jail? The Government was also asked to answer if there was an investigation of the abuses that the plaintiff had reported on numerous occasions.
The government has to answer these questions by the 4th of June.
Currently the physical abuse of Mr. Mătăsaru stopped but he is still is being subjected to psychological pressure, said his lawyer in a press conference on April 24. The police wants him to confess to acts that he did not commit. Mr. Panţâru also said that apparently there had been a prosecutor talking to Mr. Mătăsaru about these abuses. However, the lawyer is very skeptical, he says that he doesn't believe that somebody would be punished for these abuses.
The 30 days detention period of Mr. Mătăsaru will expire by the beginning of May.
joi, 23 aprilie 2009
miercuri, 22 aprilie 2009
The court declined the appeal of Mr. Mătăsaru
On Tuesday, April, 21st, Moldova's Court of Appeal declined the appeal submitted on the behalf of Mr. Mătăsaru by his lawyer, Victor Panţâru. The lawyer asked in his appeal to change the current court decision – a 30 days detention period – which he believes is groundless, to home arrest. The lawyer also invoked Mr. Mătăsaru very bad physical condition. On Saturday, April, 18th, Mr. Mătăsaru was transported to the city's emergency hospital. The doctors insisted on an IMMEDIATE hospitalization. However, the officers did not allow it, taking Mr. Mătăsaru back to the prison.
The court said that Mr. Mătăsaru's lawyer's appeal was not motivated, and therefore declined it.
Apparently, the decision of the court was influenced by the claim of the prosecutor, Oleg Malai, who said the prosecution office has evidence that Mr. Mr. Mătăsaru is a “dangerous man”. His claim was enough to keep Mătăsaru imprisoned.
Anatol Mătăsaru will stay in prison for a temporary period of 30 days, and after that he might be released if, meanwhile, the prosecutor doesn't ask for a prolongation of the arrest – said Mr. Panţâru.
Mr. Mătăsaru was transferred from the detention cell of the General Commissariat of the city to the prison, where he is no longer physically abused as it had happened at the Commissariat. However, Mr. Mătăsaru, although his case is still being investigated, is detained with already condemned prisoners, a fact that runs counter to the Moldovan legislation. Victor Panţâru will request in the near future his transfer to another cell.
During the April 21st court hearing Julia Saviţchi, Mr. Mătăsaru's wife, saw him for the first time after his arrest, on the 8th of April. She said he visibly had lost weight, he still had blue marks under his eyes (a result of a strong punch with a hard object on the back of his head, according to his lawyer), his face was swollen. She also said that he limped, but she added that she could have been mistaken. They had just enough time to exchange a couple of phrases.
She requested a meeting with her husband after the court had denied her husband's appeal. But it wasn't granted.
The court said that Mr. Mătăsaru's lawyer's appeal was not motivated, and therefore declined it.
Apparently, the decision of the court was influenced by the claim of the prosecutor, Oleg Malai, who said the prosecution office has evidence that Mr. Mr. Mătăsaru is a “dangerous man”. His claim was enough to keep Mătăsaru imprisoned.
Anatol Mătăsaru will stay in prison for a temporary period of 30 days, and after that he might be released if, meanwhile, the prosecutor doesn't ask for a prolongation of the arrest – said Mr. Panţâru.
Mr. Mătăsaru was transferred from the detention cell of the General Commissariat of the city to the prison, where he is no longer physically abused as it had happened at the Commissariat. However, Mr. Mătăsaru, although his case is still being investigated, is detained with already condemned prisoners, a fact that runs counter to the Moldovan legislation. Victor Panţâru will request in the near future his transfer to another cell.
During the April 21st court hearing Julia Saviţchi, Mr. Mătăsaru's wife, saw him for the first time after his arrest, on the 8th of April. She said he visibly had lost weight, he still had blue marks under his eyes (a result of a strong punch with a hard object on the back of his head, according to his lawyer), his face was swollen. She also said that he limped, but she added that she could have been mistaken. They had just enough time to exchange a couple of phrases.
She requested a meeting with her husband after the court had denied her husband's appeal. But it wasn't granted.
sâmbătă, 18 aprilie 2009
The policeman as a priest, just before the orthodox Easter in Moldova
The speaker of Moldova's parliament, Marian Lupu, has admitted (to The Financial Times reporter) that opposition protesters have been subjected to police brutality over the past week, but said the officers in question should not be punished.
So, like the policeman who shot a person in the head before the elections (in Chisinau), the ones that beat the soul out of hundreds of boys and girls, and also committing yet again manslaughter (of some of the people who took part in the protests against electoral fraud) should go unpunished. The number of known casualties is 3 to this moment, but there are 3 more young boys who cannot be traced by their relatives.
However, amnesty (of the people arrested during the post-election protests recently announced by the president of Moldova) doesn't seem to work for everybody. Anatol Matasaru is still in arrest. Moreover, he has been refused the right to a fair trial; the police failed to bring him to court when his appeal was scheduled on April 17th. He was the second on the list of some 30 cases. When the police did not bring him to the court as his turn came, his wife said to the press that they were keeping him for later, as "a dessert". However, it turned out that the appeal of Matasaru's case did not take place at all. Yet again, his wife was not able to see him. She had a mental breakdown. By the end of the hearings, she started to cry and ask on her knees to see her husband. (See the picture above).
She was told that Anatol was in the prison hospital with a head injury. She was handed a piece of paper on which Anatol wrote with his own handwriting, that the conditions in the prison were fine and he was treated well.
She believes that there are three reasons for which Anatol has not been set free yet. Firstly, his bruises still haven't disappeared. Secondly, police wants to punish him for his courage to openly criticize them. Thirdly, they need a scapegoat for the organization of the post-election protests.
In a previous post I mentioned that someone had broken into Matasaru family's office. Four computers were stolen. His wife called the police. According to her, the police, instead of properly investigating the crime scene, asked her questions about her financial situation and confiscated some old pieces of electronic devices as well as a few gadgets Anatol had used in his earlier happenings labeling them "documents of propaganda".
vineri, 17 aprilie 2009
joi, 16 aprilie 2009
April, 16.
After the president Voronin's declaration of amnesty of all the participants in the post-election protests, Anatol Mătăsaru wasn't freed but transferred from the detention quarters of the Commissariat General to the city's Prison nr. 13. His lawyer, Victor Panţâru, said that he was not informed about this transfer and that Anatol Matasaru still has not had any medical assistance, although he asked for it on many occasions starting with April 7th, when he got arrested and abused by policemen.
Jiulieta Saviţchi, Matasaru's wife, said to a reporter of (www.garda.com.md) that today she managed to pass to Anatol a package with clothing and food. Also today, at around 11.30 A.M., she was informed that somebody entered and ravaged family's business office. - Our office has reinforced metallic doors. I can't understand how come they were opened. I am sure it was not the thieves who entered there. - said Ms. Saviţchi.
After the president Voronin's declaration of amnesty of all the participants in the post-election protests, Anatol Mătăsaru wasn't freed but transferred from the detention quarters of the Commissariat General to the city's Prison nr. 13. His lawyer, Victor Panţâru, said that he was not informed about this transfer and that Anatol Matasaru still has not had any medical assistance, although he asked for it on many occasions starting with April 7th, when he got arrested and abused by policemen.
Jiulieta Saviţchi, Matasaru's wife, said to a reporter of (www.garda.com.md) that today she managed to pass to Anatol a package with clothing and food. Also today, at around 11.30 A.M., she was informed that somebody entered and ravaged family's business office. - Our office has reinforced metallic doors. I can't understand how come they were opened. I am sure it was not the thieves who entered there. - said Ms. Saviţchi.
miercuri, 15 aprilie 2009
a shocking testimony of one of the arrested after the post-election protests
...In one of the cells girls were detained. The girls were completely undressed and then kicked and beaten with machine-guns by policeman...
A fragment from a shocking testimony of Ion Creţu, a II year student at the Constructions College from Chişinău - one of the arrested after the post-election protests in Moldova.
Published in Jurnal de Chişinău, April, 15th, 2009.
..., a stat într-o celulă cu mai mulţi reţinuţi. El spune că într-o celulă erau închise şi fete, care erau dezbrăcate până la piele şi apoi bătute cu picioarele şi pistoalele automate de către poliţişti...
Un fragment din mărturia şocantă a lui Ion Creţu – student la anul II, Colegiul de Constucţii din Chişinăuunui - arestat după protestele de după alegeri ]n R. MOldova, publicată în Jurnal de Chişinău, 15 Aprilie 2009
...W jednej z celi byłi młode dziewczyny. Dziewczyny zostały najpierw rozebrane do naga, a potem kopane przez policjantów oraz bite karabinami maszynowymi...
fragment szokującego zeznania Iona Creţu, studenta II-go roku Szkoły Wyższej Budownictwa w Kiszyniowie - jednego z aresztowanych po powyborczych protestach w Mołdawii, opublikowanego w czasopiśmie Jurnal de Chişinău 15-go kwietnia 2009r.
A fragment from a shocking testimony of Ion Creţu, a II year student at the Constructions College from Chişinău - one of the arrested after the post-election protests in Moldova.
Published in Jurnal de Chişinău, April, 15th, 2009.
..., a stat într-o celulă cu mai mulţi reţinuţi. El spune că într-o celulă erau închise şi fete, care erau dezbrăcate până la piele şi apoi bătute cu picioarele şi pistoalele automate de către poliţişti...
Un fragment din mărturia şocantă a lui Ion Creţu – student la anul II, Colegiul de Constucţii din Chişinăuunui - arestat după protestele de după alegeri ]n R. MOldova, publicată în Jurnal de Chişinău, 15 Aprilie 2009
...W jednej z celi byłi młode dziewczyny. Dziewczyny zostały najpierw rozebrane do naga, a potem kopane przez policjantów oraz bite karabinami maszynowymi...
fragment szokującego zeznania Iona Creţu, studenta II-go roku Szkoły Wyższej Budownictwa w Kiszyniowie - jednego z aresztowanych po powyborczych protestach w Mołdawii, opublikowanego w czasopiśmie Jurnal de Chişinău 15-go kwietnia 2009r.
An interview with Anatol Mătăsaru recorded on a cell-phone camera in the prison - English transcript (draft)
the video can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZyhPd8sHCg&feature=channel_page
ANATOL MĂTĂSARU: I am continuously interrogated about where I got the money from, and forced to say that I got the money from the (opposition) parties' leaders. They say, they will do everything in their power to make my life difficult here in the prison and outside, I mean, the physical and psychological torturing is still going on.
Victor PANŢÂRU (his lawyer): Were you beaten?
A.M. : Yes I was beaten. On the 8th, on the 9th and on the 11th.
V.P. : 11th... This happened after you'd received your ordinance?
A.M. : I received the ordinance on the 10th I was beaten the next day.
V.P. : How do they beat you?
A.M.: They hit on the ribs. On the chest...
V. P. : Was the doctor here?
A.M. : No he wasn't here, although I've requested to be seen by a doctor.
V.P. : How do they feed you here?
A.M. : In the morning: bread with water. Lunch: soup. Dinner... water and...
V.P. : How many more prisoners are in your cell?
A.M. : Currently there are two of us in the cell. My inmate has AIDS, but he is not receiving any medication at the moment. I am daily interrogated: where did I get the money, how did I get it, they're checking everything, my neighbors... They brought in here a neighbor and they interrogated him as well. They are interested more in my previous protests, the pig, the donkey and the others...
V.P. I see. On the 11th you've been beaten. How about afterwards?
A.M. : Then on Saturday, on Sunday, different people came from different organizations. Sometimes they don't introduce themselves. They want me to tell them names of some political leaders.
V.P. : Do you know by any chance whom you've talked to?
A.M. : They didn't introduce themselves but I found out later that they were: Cociorvă Serghei Profirovici from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the prosecutor who recorded my testimony regarding the beatings was Ruslan Zamfirov from the military prosecutor's office or Chişinău city's prosecutors office.
V.P. Did he question you regarding the physical abuses?
A.M. Yes. Strangely enough, already four days have passed but the bruises won't disappear. This is why they don't want me to see anybody. Today I have been interrogated three times. They insisted I give them the passwords of my e-mail accounts. I gave them what they'd asked for. The officer was called Igor (or Ion it is not very clear), who was reporting to an officer called Viktorovich. I don't know who he is.
V.P. They've asked for e-mail passwords? Did you give it to them?
A.M. Yes I did. Because they were pressing me physically and psychologically.
V.P. What do you mean physically? Was he beating you? How?
A.M. : Hitting my legs with their feet. Even where I already have bruises. They would hit the same places again and again. So I gave them my passwords.
V.P. And psychologically? What did they tell you?
A.M. : They say they will launch some rumors in the prison. They have people everywhere... They will make my life difficult, even through the means of other prisoners, till the level of...
V.P. Did they threaten the well-being of your family?
A.M. : Yes. Yesterday, I was escorted out from my room. The officer did not write down in the registry that he took me. I was taken to the second floor. There was a phone for me from “Vano from the Central” - a known criminal authority – saying that they are waiting for me over there.
V.P. What did he say exactly?
A.M. He said I should do everything, that everything should be ok, meaning that I shouldn't declare anything regarding my physical injuries, and I should cooperate with the militia men.
V.P. : Do you have access to the showers, to the bathrooms?
A.M. : Not yet. Not even an outside walk, at least 15 minutes of...
V.P. : This man, the criminal authority, could he endanger your life in some way?
A.M. They can harm through rumors....
Victor Panţâru said that Mătăsaru’s fundamental rights are being violated and he will take his case to the court of law. He also said that his client had been threatened, that he would be detained with very dangerous criminals, who could kill him, in case he does not comply with police requests. One of these requests seems to be to sign an act through which to recognize that Mătăsaru have been paid by the opposition leaders to do his happenings.
Earlier, the police informed Anatol Mătăsaru's wife that Anatol's swollen face was the result of a punch he got during the protests. However, his wife said that it is not correct. Anatol came home on that evening of the protests unharmed. He even took their child next day to the kindergarten and only afterward was arrested. The "swollen face" happened inside the detention quarters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZyhPd8sHCg&feature=channel_page
ANATOL MĂTĂSARU: I am continuously interrogated about where I got the money from, and forced to say that I got the money from the (opposition) parties' leaders. They say, they will do everything in their power to make my life difficult here in the prison and outside, I mean, the physical and psychological torturing is still going on.
Victor PANŢÂRU (his lawyer): Were you beaten?
A.M. : Yes I was beaten. On the 8th, on the 9th and on the 11th.
V.P. : 11th... This happened after you'd received your ordinance?
A.M. : I received the ordinance on the 10th I was beaten the next day.
V.P. : How do they beat you?
A.M.: They hit on the ribs. On the chest...
V. P. : Was the doctor here?
A.M. : No he wasn't here, although I've requested to be seen by a doctor.
V.P. : How do they feed you here?
A.M. : In the morning: bread with water. Lunch: soup. Dinner... water and...
V.P. : How many more prisoners are in your cell?
A.M. : Currently there are two of us in the cell. My inmate has AIDS, but he is not receiving any medication at the moment. I am daily interrogated: where did I get the money, how did I get it, they're checking everything, my neighbors... They brought in here a neighbor and they interrogated him as well. They are interested more in my previous protests, the pig, the donkey and the others...
V.P. I see. On the 11th you've been beaten. How about afterwards?
A.M. : Then on Saturday, on Sunday, different people came from different organizations. Sometimes they don't introduce themselves. They want me to tell them names of some political leaders.
V.P. : Do you know by any chance whom you've talked to?
A.M. : They didn't introduce themselves but I found out later that they were: Cociorvă Serghei Profirovici from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the prosecutor who recorded my testimony regarding the beatings was Ruslan Zamfirov from the military prosecutor's office or Chişinău city's prosecutors office.
V.P. Did he question you regarding the physical abuses?
A.M. Yes. Strangely enough, already four days have passed but the bruises won't disappear. This is why they don't want me to see anybody. Today I have been interrogated three times. They insisted I give them the passwords of my e-mail accounts. I gave them what they'd asked for. The officer was called Igor (or Ion it is not very clear), who was reporting to an officer called Viktorovich. I don't know who he is.
V.P. They've asked for e-mail passwords? Did you give it to them?
A.M. Yes I did. Because they were pressing me physically and psychologically.
V.P. What do you mean physically? Was he beating you? How?
A.M. : Hitting my legs with their feet. Even where I already have bruises. They would hit the same places again and again. So I gave them my passwords.
V.P. And psychologically? What did they tell you?
A.M. : They say they will launch some rumors in the prison. They have people everywhere... They will make my life difficult, even through the means of other prisoners, till the level of...
V.P. Did they threaten the well-being of your family?
A.M. : Yes. Yesterday, I was escorted out from my room. The officer did not write down in the registry that he took me. I was taken to the second floor. There was a phone for me from “Vano from the Central” - a known criminal authority – saying that they are waiting for me over there.
V.P. What did he say exactly?
A.M. He said I should do everything, that everything should be ok, meaning that I shouldn't declare anything regarding my physical injuries, and I should cooperate with the militia men.
V.P. : Do you have access to the showers, to the bathrooms?
A.M. : Not yet. Not even an outside walk, at least 15 minutes of...
V.P. : This man, the criminal authority, could he endanger your life in some way?
A.M. They can harm through rumors....
Victor Panţâru said that Mătăsaru’s fundamental rights are being violated and he will take his case to the court of law. He also said that his client had been threatened, that he would be detained with very dangerous criminals, who could kill him, in case he does not comply with police requests. One of these requests seems to be to sign an act through which to recognize that Mătăsaru have been paid by the opposition leaders to do his happenings.
Earlier, the police informed Anatol Mătăsaru's wife that Anatol's swollen face was the result of a punch he got during the protests. However, his wife said that it is not correct. Anatol came home on that evening of the protests unharmed. He even took their child next day to the kindergarten and only afterward was arrested. The "swollen face" happened inside the detention quarters.
luni, 13 aprilie 2009
Edwin Berry, Human Rights Adviser to the UN in Moldova, about mass arrests
Edwin Berry, Human Rights Adviser to the UN in Moldova has managed to visit the prison nr.13 on Saturday and talk to at least 40 of the young people arrested during the protests. «I have never seen anything like this», said Berry.
UN adviser claims he has seen at least 40 youngsters who are detained in various cells. «They all have traces of beatings and injuries,» Berry said, adding that practically all the prisoners are aged between 18 and 24.
The prisoners complained they were beaten in the different police sections or at the headquarters of the Commissioner General of Police. They claimed that between 25 and 28 people were held in small cells of 8 square meters. They were given very little water, and virtually no food. Also, most of them complained about the fact that they were not allowed to see a lawyer.
«I have seen doctors in the Penitentiary, but the prisoners say they do not receive all appropriate medical assistance», said the UN representative. He told the press that he had taken photographs of the signs of torture which these young people bear on their bodies. He also requested to set up a meeting with the Moldovan Ministry of Interior Affairs. Also, the data that he collected during his visit will be used to document the cases and to inform the international community about what is happening.
«From what I saw and heard from those 40 young people, I can say that there are serious human rights violations, namely the practices of inhuman and degrading treatment and preventing the right to legal advice, fair court proceedings and appropriate conditions of detention, «said the UN official.
Berry believes it is important there is the "Committee for complaints" in Moldova, which made it possible for him to visit the prison.
source: http://garda.com.md/stiri/reprezentantul-onu-in-moldovacate-28-de-tineri-batuti-intr-o-celula-de-8-metri
UN adviser claims he has seen at least 40 youngsters who are detained in various cells. «They all have traces of beatings and injuries,» Berry said, adding that practically all the prisoners are aged between 18 and 24.
The prisoners complained they were beaten in the different police sections or at the headquarters of the Commissioner General of Police. They claimed that between 25 and 28 people were held in small cells of 8 square meters. They were given very little water, and virtually no food. Also, most of them complained about the fact that they were not allowed to see a lawyer.
«I have seen doctors in the Penitentiary, but the prisoners say they do not receive all appropriate medical assistance», said the UN representative. He told the press that he had taken photographs of the signs of torture which these young people bear on their bodies. He also requested to set up a meeting with the Moldovan Ministry of Interior Affairs. Also, the data that he collected during his visit will be used to document the cases and to inform the international community about what is happening.
«From what I saw and heard from those 40 young people, I can say that there are serious human rights violations, namely the practices of inhuman and degrading treatment and preventing the right to legal advice, fair court proceedings and appropriate conditions of detention, «said the UN official.
Berry believes it is important there is the "Committee for complaints" in Moldova, which made it possible for him to visit the prison.
source: http://garda.com.md/stiri/reprezentantul-onu-in-moldovacate-28-de-tineri-batuti-intr-o-celula-de-8-metri
Rest in peace VALERIU BOBOC...
Rest in peace VALERIU BOBOC...
Yesterday, April 12, the first casualty of the brutal police beatings was buried. Nobody knew about this case earlier because the body was not handed to the relatives immediately after the young man's death.
The arrests go on in Moldova. The beatings go on. Already hundreds of people are under arrest (some have been released). Journalists become victims of police as well. Sometimes they are only threatened (journalists from “ZdG”) or kidnapped and interrogated (like Rodica Mahu: co-editor of jurnal.md). (See also the previous post about Oleg Brega.)
…..............
Rest in peace VALERIU BOBOC...
“His name was VALERIU BOBOC. He was 23 years old. He was a supporter of the Liberal Party (LP). His parents think that he was murdered with cruelty while in arrest. On the other hand, the General Prosecutor Office has announced the following in a press release:
„Regarding the multiple rumors related to the death of the citizen Valeriu Boboc, the Press Service of the Prosecutor Office is in right to inform the following. On April 8, at 1.15 am, V. Boboc died on his way to the Emergency Hospital. According to the results of the autopsy, the body injuries and the broken rib have no causative connection with the cause of death. According to the doctors, he was subject to intoxication with an unknown substance. In order to exclude any doubts related to the cause of death, the prosecutors are ready to call an international expertise.” ( not because of the beating, and unattended broken rib, mind you, but because of an intoxication with an unknown gas. It seems even more so like the establishment of a holocaust. my note).
Meanwhile, the General Prosecutor Office has formed a special group of prosecutors with the task to verify and examine all requests and complaints filed by citizens regarding the alleged actions of abuses, torture etc., committed by police.
With regard to the persons detained or arrested within the actions of mass disorders, the Prosecutor Office informs that according to procedural criminal laws, all persons are granted legal assistance and the hearings of minors are carried out in the presence of parents or professors.
The prosecutors constantly verify the detention rooms in order to exclude abuses from law enforcement. In this context, the Public Relations sections as well as other subdivisions of the Prosecutor Office are ready to receive and examine all complaints related to alleged bad treatments.”
source: www.garda.com.md
a video from the funeral:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7pRo4hqzzQ
In the meantime, there are reports that there is a new kind of product on the Moldovan market - “beaten young man”. The price that the parents or the relatives have to pay to the people who beat their sons (to Police officers) for one beaten person varies from 2000 to 3000 Moldovan lei (200-250 US dollars.) The relatives are told to keep quiet about these transactions, as usually is the practice when it comes to human trade.
These sums could, perhaps, be even motivated legally, as a fine that the guilty party has to pay for disturbing the (communist) order.
The people are terrorized, they don't know whom to ask for help.
It has been reported that journalists from the European Union were not allowed to enter Moldova.
Update on Anatol Mătăsaru's case:
On Sunday, Anatol Mătăsaru's wife, a former journalist, Julieta Saviţschi, managed to pass over to him in detention a package with some food. She also wanted to send in some creams for bruises, as well as some vitamins. Police said, Anatol refused the vitamins and the creams.
According to Julieta, her husband is being badly mistreated. Among others, he is told by his guards - To lick their boots in order to stay alive. - Since the police seems to be very serious about its threats (see the case of Valeriu Boboc) Julia Saviţschi is being particularly worried about her husband's well-being. She actually declared to couple of press-agencies that she is afraid, she might not see him alive again.
According to Julieta Saviţschi, A. Mătăsaru is currently being investigated under the article 285 (on mass disorders). Chapter 4 of R.Moldova's criminal code:
Article 285. Mass disorder
(4) Calls to active insubordination to the legitimate requests of the representatives of the authorities and to mass disorders, as well as the calls to commit violent acts against the citizens,
Shall be punished by a fine in the amount of 200 to 500 conventional units or by jail term of up to 3 years.
Source of the English translation of the Criminal Code:
http://www.legislationline.org/download/action/download/id/1687/file/0e3bf0290e9b404cb57debe4ebc4.htm/preview
(One conventional unit is approx. 20 Moldovan Lei, or 1.3 Euro. My addition)
As I mentioned earlier, Anatol was already, temporarily sentenced, on Friday last week, with a 30 days' detention period. Anatol, one of the few of the hundreds of detained people, had the privilege of being judged in the presence of his lawyer. His lawyer contested the decision of the court. Importantly, the judge did report to the prosecutors' office that Anatol was physically abused.
Although the evidence remains unclear, his wife said that Anatol was also charged with stealing some computers.
It seems that the evidence for Anatol case comes mainly from videos shown on the state TV – Moldova-1 (TRM),
see an excerpt here:
http://www.trm.md/index.php?module=stiri_int&news_id=7777
Unlike the video streams broadcast on the Internet by independent TV stations that assume a critical attitude towards the Communist Government, the pro-communist TRM's live stream has an amazing speed of transfer!!! Check for comparison the speed of www.jurnaltv.md or www.protv.md – 2 independent TV stations.
On this particular video Anatol is seen collecting stones during the riot following the elections and throwing them in the already broken windows of the Presidential Palace, most interestingly, in a quite an “art-brute” way - he is filmed while he is hitting with a stone the objective of a TRM camera that is filming him. While hitting the objective, he uttered a series of expletives. This fragment (uncensored) was shown on multiple occasions on TRM. In this particular feature report presented here (length just above 1 minute) the fragment with “breaking the objective” is shown three times - plain negative image-making.
Apparently, there was a whole army of cameramen from TRM filming him from various angles during the protests. He is a star after all. He is the first one, to my knowledge, to be ever shown on the national TRM using expletives, not mentioning – the attack on the company's video-camera.
This video report on TRM is about a press conference of Chisinau's mayor and vice president of LP, Dorin Chirtoacă, at which the mayor condemned the recent acts of Anatol Mătăsaru.
Yet, again, the opinions of Moldova's artists and art critics about Anatol Mătăsaru diverge greatly. Even among the critics who consider themselves in opposition to the actual Communist government. Some believe that Mătăsaru is a great scamp and he deserves what he got, others say, that one cannot judge an artist according to his “scampness.”
More updates will follow...
vineri, 10 aprilie 2009
Anatol Mătăsaru now, still in arrest
Anatol Mătăsaru was already sentenced. (It didn't happen on Saturday as I mentioned earlier, but on Friday.) The case was judged on the premises of the police station where he is detained. The process lasted 10 minutes. He was charged with 30 days in prison. This is only a temporary sentence. It was decided to keep him jailed for the period his criminal file (co-organizing of the riot) is under investigation.
There are many hundreds of arrests going on right now in Republic Moldova. Many people are being beaten by police, so A. Mătăsaru is not the only one who has been beaten. However, according to this witness, it seems that the Moldovan police takes a particular pleasure in beating Anatol. They say> "we finally "bagged" this guy and his donkey!"
(- bagged - here meaning the informal for "arrested" but also think of a "boxing bag" that Anatol turned into. -
This is as close as I could get to translating into English the Romanian verb Moldovan police officers use - "to blow". Anatol' head is literary "blown" as a result of the numerous beatings. The metaphorical meaning of the Romanian "to blow" is "to imprison".)
In an article on www.garda.com.md, it was reported that only 2 police officers beat him, but his wife says, that they might not be the only ones.
From the same article on "ZdG" webpage: Anatol is breathing with difficulties, he says he might have a broken rib. After he was beaten, he asked for the ambulance. The doctors came and offered him the necessary help. However, when they wanted to document his injuries, it seems that the police did not allow them to do it properly.
the article (in Romanian)
http://garda.com.md/stiri/anatol-matasaru-batut-cu-cruzime-la-politie
Until Monday, his wife won't have any access to him. She can not pass him any warm clothing either.
miercuri, 8 aprilie 2009
MĂTĂSARU ARRESTED AGAIN!
According to www.curaj.net Anatol Matasaru has been arrested by police together with some hundreds of protesters during the street protests that emerged the following days after the parliamentary election that had taken place in Moldova on the 5th.
More about the events in English can be found on website:
BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7989780.stm
New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/world/europe/08moldova.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=moldova&st=cse
and
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/world/europe/09moldova.html?scp=3&sq=moldova&st=cse
some pictures>
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/04/07/world/0407-MOLDOVA_index.html
Financial Times:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c8b46c18-2463-11de-9a01-00144feabdc0.html
updates about A. Matasaru's arrest:
According to Anatol's wife: His lawyer, Victor Panţîru, said that Anatol is badly beaten, and his physical state is very bad, his head is swollen, his nose is broken, he is all in bruises, his face is badly wounded. The police is charging him with the co-organization of the riot form those days.
His wife can't see him. She was pushed out of the police station.
On Saturday there is going to be a trial, in which the verdict in Anatol's case is going to be pronounced.
An additional piece of news:
According to a number of Moldovan websites> OLEG BREGA WAS BADLY BEATEN by police yesterday. He is the Moldovan journalist from JURNALTV.md who contributed to 'matasaruart.blogspot.com' project with pictures from Anatol's happenings. Police also confiscated his video equipment. It happened on April, 7th, while O. Brega tried to record the apparently aleatory arrests and beatings of the protesters by police. Curently Oleg's location is unknown. He disapeared together with another cameraman from the same TV station.
17:50, April,09 // The declaration of the the editor in chief of JURNAL de CHISINAU (newspaper) and JURNAL TV (internret TV station) -- Val Butnaru
The attack against the JURNAL TV reporter and his deprivation of video-camera proves that the communist government intends to lead all the way to the end the plans it constructed far in advance to the April 5 elections. The cynical mystification of the elections results, instigating to vandalism, involving criminal elements within the natural manifestations of the youth, blaming the entire fault on the democratic opposition, annihilating the free press – these are the steps the anti-popular regime is taking in order to install one of the most tough dictatorship in the world.
From among all the journalists reporting the events that took place these days, it was a JURNAL TV reporter who was severely injured and got his video camera taken away – a completely acknowledged deed. Oleg Brega, a well known journalist, as well as JURNAL de CHISINAU, and especially JURNAL TV, mass media institutions that have a significant impact upon the public opinion – these are the factors which annoy the communist authorities, who are trying not only to intimidate the free press, but to physically annihilate it.
JURNAL draws the attention of Council of Europe, OSCE and other international organizations, which, by reason of naivety or irresponsibility and cowardice, pretend not to see the installation of a dictatorial regime in Republic of Moldova and that the situation gets more and more severe every day inclusively because the attitude of the above mentioned organizations.
We are convinced that justice will triumph sooner or later, and the defenders of this dictatorial regime will answer in front of justice. JURNAL de CHISINAU will carry on its activity even if we will be forced to go for illegality.
More about the events in English can be found on website:
BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7989780.stm
New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/world/europe/08moldova.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=moldova&st=cse
and
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/world/europe/09moldova.html?scp=3&sq=moldova&st=cse
some pictures>
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/04/07/world/0407-MOLDOVA_index.html
Financial Times:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c8b46c18-2463-11de-9a01-00144feabdc0.html
updates about A. Matasaru's arrest:
According to Anatol's wife: His lawyer, Victor Panţîru, said that Anatol is badly beaten, and his physical state is very bad, his head is swollen, his nose is broken, he is all in bruises, his face is badly wounded. The police is charging him with the co-organization of the riot form those days.
His wife can't see him. She was pushed out of the police station.
On Saturday there is going to be a trial, in which the verdict in Anatol's case is going to be pronounced.
An additional piece of news:
According to a number of Moldovan websites> OLEG BREGA WAS BADLY BEATEN by police yesterday. He is the Moldovan journalist from JURNALTV.md who contributed to 'matasaruart.blogspot.com' project with pictures from Anatol's happenings. Police also confiscated his video equipment. It happened on April, 7th, while O. Brega tried to record the apparently aleatory arrests and beatings of the protesters by police. Curently Oleg's location is unknown. He disapeared together with another cameraman from the same TV station.
17:50, April,09 // The declaration of the the editor in chief of JURNAL de CHISINAU (newspaper) and JURNAL TV (internret TV station) -- Val Butnaru
The attack against the JURNAL TV reporter and his deprivation of video-camera proves that the communist government intends to lead all the way to the end the plans it constructed far in advance to the April 5 elections. The cynical mystification of the elections results, instigating to vandalism, involving criminal elements within the natural manifestations of the youth, blaming the entire fault on the democratic opposition, annihilating the free press – these are the steps the anti-popular regime is taking in order to install one of the most tough dictatorship in the world.
From among all the journalists reporting the events that took place these days, it was a JURNAL TV reporter who was severely injured and got his video camera taken away – a completely acknowledged deed. Oleg Brega, a well known journalist, as well as JURNAL de CHISINAU, and especially JURNAL TV, mass media institutions that have a significant impact upon the public opinion – these are the factors which annoy the communist authorities, who are trying not only to intimidate the free press, but to physically annihilate it.
JURNAL draws the attention of Council of Europe, OSCE and other international organizations, which, by reason of naivety or irresponsibility and cowardice, pretend not to see the installation of a dictatorial regime in Republic of Moldova and that the situation gets more and more severe every day inclusively because the attitude of the above mentioned organizations.
We are convinced that justice will triumph sooner or later, and the defenders of this dictatorial regime will answer in front of justice. JURNAL de CHISINAU will carry on its activity even if we will be forced to go for illegality.
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