Moldova Not Investigating Torture Allegations, US Report Says

A US State Department report on human rights in Moldova in 2019 said the country was failing to investigate most allegations of mistreatment and torture.

The report issued on Wednesday said prosecutors only opened cases for about 10 per cent of reported allegations of torture and mistreatment in the first half of 2019.

"During the first half of the year, the anti-torture division of the Prosecutor General's Office received 456 allegations of torture and mistreatment, a significant increase from the previous year [but] prosecutors initiated [only] 45 criminal cases," it said.

About 200 of these alleged abuses occurred in government institutions, mostly in prisons, where torture was used also allegedly as a political tool, it said.

"The human rights ombudsman reported that most allegations of torture occurred at Penitentiary No 13 in Chisinau, Penitentiary No 11 in Balti, and Penitentiaries Nos 15 and 4 in Cricova," the report said.

It said conditions in prisons were harsh, noting poor sanitation, lack of privacy, insufficient or no access to outdoor exercise, and a lack of facilities for persons with disabilities.

The document said some people were incarcerated by force in mental institutions, including children suffering from autism.

"In 2018, approximately 7,000 patients were placed at the Psychiatric Hospital in Chisinau against their will, resulting in 50 court rulings on involuntary confinement in this situation. IDOM also reported cases of children with autism being confined in psychiatric hospitals with no access to specialized treatment programs," it said, citing experts from the Chisinau-based NGO, Moldovan Institute for Human Rights, IDOM.

The report also said that "illegal wiretaps of the telephones of...