During the last few days, we have received very mixed news from Moldova. On one hand, I am encouraged by the proposal to check electoral lists and recount the votes. This should help to calm the post-election controversy.

On the other hand, I am very concerned about alleged breaches of human rights with alleged detention of large numbers of people, including children, and restrictions on the freedom of media.

Against this background, I have asked Jean-Louis Laurens, the Director General for Democracy and Political Affairs of the Council of Europe, to travel to Chisinau immediately and report on the situation in the country.

After several attempts, ZDG (“Ziarul de Garda”, in English “The Guard Journal”) was able to have a several minutes phone call with the Manager of the Human Rights Center, which declared that he has “a contract with Antena C radio station”, and that’s why he lets them interview him.

“We have a contract with Antena C and that’s why he discussed with them”,
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Today, the NDI Chief (National Democratic Institute), Alex Grigorievs, was escorted to the MAI (Ministry of Administration and Interior) Migration Office headquarter by the interior collaborators where he was accused of illegal stay in Moldova. Tomorrow at the Center Judge’s Office this foreign official expulsion will be decided.

According to the NDI chief lawyer, Costel Tănase, Grigorievs was escorted today at MAI for being accused of illegal stay in Republic Moldova. Alex Grigorievs is present in Moldova since
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Anatol Mătăsaru declared today to his lawyer that he was beaten, physically and psychologically abused for offering his email addresses.

“They beaten me and threatened me with physical account, asking first of all to sign an act through which to recognize that I’ve been paid by the opposition leaders to protest, a fact which is not true. In the time, they’ve beaten me with the legs over my thighs to give them the passwords from my email addresses. I didn’t have any other alternative than giving them these passwords” said Mătăsaru, adding that he is currently detained with an AIDS infected person which is not receiving medication at the moment. He was also threatened that he will be detained with very dangerous criminals, which could kill him, in case he will not cooperate with the police.

Victor Panţâru sustains that a couple of Mătăsaru’s fundamental rights are violated and he will appeal to the law courts.

The chief of the National Institute for Democracy (NDI), Alex Grigorievs, an institution which represents the United States of America, was arrested about one hour ago.

Grigorievs’ colleagues told us that the conditions in which the chief was taken from his office by the force institutions collaborators are unclear. They also added that they don’t know exactly at which police sections he was taken.

Alex Grigorievs had foreign diplomat status and was in Moldova for the fifth year, managing NDI – institution which accorded consultancy to all the political parties from Moldova.

A couple of people signal us that during the last couple of days police patrols are stopping teen agers on the streets.

Today, on the Dacia Boulevard (Blvd. Dacia) from Botanica quarter, Chisinau, around the Budapest shop a police patron stopped a group of children that were going to school. The police men asked each one of them where they are going, who they are and other details. The children were under 14 years old and they were not accompanied by an adult, while the law doesn’t allow interrogating children in the absence of a lawyer, tutor or parents.
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Edwin Berry, Human Rights Adviser to the UN in Moldova, on mass arrests in Moldova

Edwin Berry, Human Rights Adviser to the UN in Moldova has managed to visit the prison nr.13 (in Chsinau??) 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.
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Today, in the time interval 1 — 2 pm, at the Technical University from Moldova (Universitatea Tehnică din Moldova) the lecturer ALexandru Olevschi was taken right during the school classes.
His faculty colleagues explained us that Alexandru was taken from the faculty, right during the time when we has teaching. “Today he taught a lesson together with another lecturer. This way his colleague was left alone. Nobody told us what happened, they took it and that was it”, told us with half mouth his colleagues, adding that his retention is in the context of the street manifestations from the last week.
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A couple of people signal us that during the last couple of days police patrols are stopping teen agers on the streets.

Today, on the Dacia Boulevard (Blvd. Dacia) from Botanica quarter, Chisinau, around the Budapest shop a police patron stopped a group of children that were going to school. The police men asked each one of them where they are going, who they are and other details. The children were under 14 years old and they were not accompanied by an adult, while the law doesn’t allow interrogating children in the absence of a lawyer, tutor or parents.
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The Republic Moldova’s Government received a donation in the amount of 12.25 million US dollars from the Russian company S.A.D “Gazprom”, assistance addressed to the procurement of petroleum products for completing the state reserves.
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