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Police in the capital, Chisinau, took no action yesterday as the Chair of Amnesty International's branch in Moldova, Igor Grosu, and several other participants of a peaceful demonstration were injured.

"It is not the first time that the police in Moldova have failed to protect demonstrators from unidentified attackers, thus violating the right to freedom of expression," said Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International.

"Law enforcement officials' tolerance of such behaviour casts doubt on the government's determination to uphold their international obligations for the protection of human rights."

The demonstration by Amnesty International Moldova, the Resource Centre for Human Rights (CReDO), Hyde Park, Promo Lex and the Institute for Human Rights was organized to protest against previous failures by the police to uphold the right to freedom of expression and to ask the Prosecutor General's office to investigate these violations. Shortly after gathering in front of the Prosecutor General's office in central Chisinau the demonstrators were attacked by about 10 masked men who punched and hit them. Igor Grosu was hit from behind and had to be treated in hospital for a head injury, requiring several stitches. A member of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights was punched in the face.

The demonstrators called the police immediately, but the police did not come to their aid. By contrast when Anatol Matasaru staged a one-man peaceful legal protest outside the Prosecutor General's office on 29 January police arrived within minutes to detain him. After the demonstrators had successfully chased off the counter-demonstrators the police again refused to come and collect the remaining evidence of the attack.

Amnesty International has been increasingly concerned that despite a new law on assembly which came into force in April 2008, police continue to restrict freedom of expression by detaining peaceful protesters, although most prosecutions brought by the police are not upheld by the courts. According to monitoring carried out by CReDO, police presence at demonstrations, the number of detentions and the use of force by police have increased since the new law came into force.

Amnesty International calls on the Prosecutor General of Moldova to investigate the failure of the police to defend the right of demonstrators who were acting in accordance with the law, as well as previous failures to allow demonstrations in accordance with the Law on Assembly.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE
4 February 2009