The measures taken by the Republic of Moldova to combat ill-treatment were verified by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 19-21 September 2023. The action takes place in relation to the implementation of the Levința group of cases – judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) finding torture and ill-treatment by the police, inadequate investigation, conviction based on “evidence” obtained as a result of ill-treatment or failure to provide adequate medical care to persons in detention.

Following the checks, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe expressed its concern about the extremely low number of criminal cases initiated and referred to court on ill-treatment cases. This may indicate problems with the effectiveness and quality of investigations, even though there has been a slight decrease in the number of such complaints.

Thus, our country will have to provide information on the reasons for the reduction in the number of investigations initiated and referred to court, on the institutional structure for investigating cases of ill-treatment, including the powers of anti-torture prosecutors and the sufficiency of human resources allocated to their investigation.

The Committee welcomed the Constitutional Court’s ruling No 31 of 29 November 2018 on the need to grant the injured party and his/her representative access to the materials of the criminal proceedings, but requested information on developments in legislation and/or practice in its application.

The Committee of Ministers’ decision also contains the following recommendations:

• – Promote a “zero tolerance” policy towards ill-treatment by ensuring that courts apply deterrent sanctions in cases of ill-treatment.
  
  
• – Take further steps to ensure confidentiality during medical examinations of persons in police custody, as lack of protection of personal information remains an acute problem.
  
  
• – Provide clear information on the measures taken in relation to persons suspected of ill-treatment, as they are rarely suspended or sanctioned.

On 26 July 2023, the Legal Resources Centre from Moldova and on 3 August 2023, the Promo-LEX Association sent their communications to the Committee of Ministers informing about the existence of these problems, but also mentioning the lack of tangible impact of the reforms and measures to combat ill-treatment undertaken so far by the authorities.

In order to assess progress and outstanding issues, the Government must provide the Committee of Ministers with the relevant information by 31 October 2024. The next review session of the Levința group of cases is expected in 2025.