Valeriu Zubco

General Prosecutor

Str. Mitropolit Beneleski-Bodoni, 26

Chişinău MD-2005

Moldova

Dear General Prosecutor

Hundreds of people, including minors, were reportedly ill-treated in police detention in Moldova, following protests against parliamentary election results in April 2009. Oxana Radu was among 36 young people who travelled from the south of Moldova to the capital, Chişinău, to take part in the demonstrations. Their two minibuses were stopped as they set off for home close to midnight on 7-8 April. They were taken to the General Police Station in Chişinău, where Oxana Radu and other members of the group were ill-treated.

Oxana Radu told Amnesty International: “They led me to a room where there was a policeman and a policewoman. They forced me to strip naked and I covered myself with my arms […] because I was embarrassed and they laughed at me and said: ‘You’re cold, we will warm you up.’ They made me do squats.” She was then taken to a cell and held with her sister and four other women. They were reportedly left for two days without food or water, and denied access to a lawyer or contact with their families.

Oxana Radu was accused of shouting at a policeman and sentenced to five days’ administrative detention by a judge in the police station. She and two other women were taken to the north of the country to serve their sentences. She was released at 2am on 14 April. Oxana Radu has made official complaints about her treatment.

I call on you to immediately open a criminal investigation into the ill-treatment of Oxana Radu while in police detention, and to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

Sincerely,

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