During the month of May and almost every day in June, lawyer Ana Nani repeatedly notified law enforcement authorities about several incidents of domestic violence. The death of the 83-year-old woman could have been avoided if the responsible authorities respected their functions in accordance with the legislation and internal instructions in the field of preventing and combating domestic violence.

On May 23, 2019, lawyer Ana Nani was notified of a domestic violence case by a neighbour of  80-year-old Elena and 83-year-old Maria (both names changed, ed. note). They were assaulted on a regular basis by their nephew Vasile (name changed, ed.note) who came to live with his two aunts after he was released from jail,  at the insistence of local police. The police were repeatedly informed of the assaults, but the actions taken by the law enforcement authorities were limited to warnings, while the abuses continued. On May 16, the violence escalated and Elena was taken to the Emergency Hospital with multiple traumas.  

The police were called immediately, but they only came to take statements four days later. Law enforcement did not intervene, saying that they are waiting for the results of forensic experts, even though according to the medical report, Elena was hospitalized for multiple rib fractures.

On May 23, the Chişinău District Court issued a restraining order. The aggressor had to leave the house and stay away from the two sisters for 3 months. But Vasile went home after the trial and Nani notified the local policeman about his failure to conform to the order.  

According to the law, in the case of non-compliance with the restraining order, the police must immediately detain the aggressor and start prosecution. In this situation, however, the police’s actions were limited to inviting Vasile to the police station, where he was given a warning and told to comply with the order.

“We contacted the criminal investigation authorty. On the phone, I was told, ‘Mrs. lawyer, you must know that if the restraining order is violated, we first have to apply a contravention penalty and only then open a criminal investigation.’ The prosecutor was unaware that the legislation was amended and that in such situations, a criminal case must be initiated immediately…” the lawyer said.

An appeal was made to the head of the General Police Inspectorate and to the head of the Chişinău Police Department, urging police intervention. A criminal investigation on non-compliance with the restraining order was in effect on 5 June. The same day, the lawyer submitted a request for Vasile’s preventive detention.

 “It was shocking to hear the prosecutor tell me she understands the situation, but she will not do anything earlier than Monday, June 10. My request was submitted on Wednesday, June 5. I have yet to receive an answer,” Nani said.

“Are you aware that the aggressor has finally been detained?”

On Saturday, June 8, Vasile was detained for murdering his aunt Maria. Now, he can be sentenced to ten years in prison. Three criminal cases are to be initiated: for non-compliance with the restraining order, for bodily injuries in the case of Elena and for the murder of Maria.  

A local policeman contacted the lawyer after what happened, asking her: “Do you know that the aggressor has finally been detained?”

“Did they have to wait until a murder was committed in order to detain him? This murder is the consequence of the inaction of the prosecution authority and the police. Although for 12 years now, the Law on the prevention and combating of domestic violence has been in force, we are still facing situations where the responsible institutions do not know what they have to do, they do not intervene and consequently we have serious outcomes,” Nani said.

On June 10, a complaint was filed to initiate an investigation into the inaction of law enforcement officials. The Office of the Prosecutor General is to determine who is guilty for professional neglect. 

“The case demonstrates that we cannot trust the law enforcement authorities. They do not intervene in time and cannot defend our rights and physical integrity. If those responsible are not punished, they will act in other situations just as they did in this case,” said lawyer Ana Nani.

905 domestic violence offences

According to the information provided by Moldova’s General Police Inspectorate in Moldova, 349 crimes and 14 homicides as a result of domestic violence were reported in the first five months of 2019. In Chişinău, 38 offences were committed, two of which were murders.