Files on torture, initiated after the tragic events of April 2009, is likely to be prescribed. So, the police torturers will no longer be able to go to jail, even if their actions would be demonstrated in court.

In two months will be exactly five years after the events of April 2009. According to art. 60, Penal Code of  R. Moldova, entitled “Criminal accountability prescription”, five years after committing a less serious crime, “the person shall be released from criminal liability. “In other words, after this period, that person can not be criminally punished, with imprisonment, even if the court would demonstrate and find him guilty. This category includes more crimes committed during the events of April 2009: the abuse of power or abuse of the service (the first paragraph of Art. 327, Criminal Code), excess of power or overcome of service functions (the first paragraph of art.328 Criminal Code), negligence in service (first paragraph of art. 329 Criminal Code) and even torture (art. 309¹ Criminal Code in 2009).

Nothing has changed

In 2013, in April, a volunteer group Amnesty International protested outside Police Headquarters (now the General Police Inspectorate, no), requiring a competent investigation of complaints from those who were maltreated in April 2009 and cautioning  public opinion about the imminent prescription which may be imposed by judges in the April 7 cases, in which police are accused of torture. That’s because, in 2009, in the Penal Code, torture was considered a less serious misdemeanor, prescripteble after five years from committing it. And yet, since then, nothing has changed .

“Amnesty International, as an NGO that advocates for human rights and the fight against torture and inhuman and degrading treatment, says that our institutions of law, prosecution, courts, police, have not done their job well during these five years. Comparing to last year, nothing has changed”, notes Igor Stoica, Amnesty International lawyer. “Especially that in April, the prescription period expires, which is five years for torture. According to Criminal Code of 2009, those persons who have used torture, after April 2014, will be released from criminal liability”, notes Stoica. “Even though, in 2014, art.309 ¹ does not exist,  the punishment for torture beeing  higher now, in criminal law there is a principle regarding the non-retroactivity of criminal law. If the law changes, the person’s criminal punishment can not be aggravated, and the prescription period can not be changed”, said Stoica .

There are no such files?

Cornelius Bratunov, chief prosecutor of pursue prosecution department on exceptional cases of the Prosecutor General (PG ), acknowledges that “theoretically it is possible for judges to invoke the period of prescription, but”, he says , “there are no such files now that this could be relied to.

In those cases in which there was this possibility were already taken decisions”. Bratunov ensures that neither Valentin Zubic, major state chief during the events of April 2009, whos case is still in the management of prosecutors, is not a subject of prescription.

Also Ion Caracuian, chief prosecutor section against torture, says that, as far as he knows, on April 7 files, subject to the prescription, courts have already pronounced. Caracuian refined that his section does not control those cases, PG is dealing with them. However, asked by ZdG if in other files where policemen are accused of torture that are still pending

if it is possible for court judges to invoke the prescription, he told us that he doesn’t know how would the court proceed in such cases .

Cretu file and the prescription

Liable to prescription is file of Sergiu Cretu, young man who ended up, after the events of April 2009, with a fractured hand, requiring a complicated surgery. He suffered other injuries that required treatment for months. Accused in this case was policeman Radu Starinschi, who was then chief of Criminal Police Department of the Central Police Station. File, yet indicted in 2010, is now, once again, on the magistrates table of the Court of Appeals (CA) Chisinau, already for the third time .

At the beggining of  this year, the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ)  Chisinau, has sent the case for retrial, the first meeting beeing called for 13th of  February 2014.

“I think it’s possible to apply the prescription in this case because, its true, here intervene the five years from commitment of the offence. It  depends how fast will examine the case

CA Chisinau and how will the defendant behave. Here we also see another situation. The prescription may be applied if it is acknowledged by the defendant. I mean, he basically would have to confess, and he might not agree”, says Natalia Moloşag, Sergiu Cretu’s lawyer, who said that Sergiu is already exhausted by this file. Note that, although there are no statistics on the subject of prescription files, such files exist. Many of them are not even sent to the court, and thereupon, the prosecution was discontinued several times, and then, restarted, either by desicions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), or by lawyers insistence.

 “The political class must answer”

“From the few cases in which prsecution began and the fewer criminal cases sent do court, the only legal solution is exempting from criminal liability in connection with the expiry of the prescription period. It is a disappointment for the society, an injustice, but it’s the only legal solution. In this case, the political class must answer for not executing the ​​Parliament Decision no. 159 from 8th of July 2010 on the report of the Commission of investigation for the elucidation of causes and consequences of the events after April 5, 2009”, thinks Ion Guzun, project coordinator in the Center for Legal Resources in Moldova (CLRM).

“We started on the wrong foot. During April-September 2009 were ruling those who worked to create as many impediments to collect evidence and conduct qualitative investigations. ECHR decisions condemning Moldova for ineffective investigations have not contributed, unfortunately, to urgency the finishing of prosecutions or cases that are in court. I feel sorry that MPs speak only about the phenomenon of April 7, 2009 and not also about their responsibility for each day that have passed since those tragic events. Possibly they had or changed their priorities ongoing”, notes Guzun.

Victor MOȘNEAG