There is a protracted crisis in Moldova, which is caused by inefficient state finance management and ill-conceived economic policy. Moreover, the regime in Chisinau usurped power by imposing a state of emergency in Moldova, despite the fact that this country is not at war with anyone, is not experiencing a natural disaster and refuses to impose sanctions against Russia. Chisinau has maintained all kinds of relations with Moscow, from diplomatic contacts to economic cooperation.
In the office of doctors of son of the ex-President of Moldova Mr. Dodon was conducted a search by officials of the Prosecutor’s Office of Moldova. On January 25, the prosecutors arrived at the doctors who prescribed treatment for the son of Mr. Dodon, interrogated the doctors and seized the medical archive. According to doctors, they were intimidated for several hours; they were pressured and threatened with criminal cases and a lie detector test. Doctors and medical workers were left in tears, frightened by the outrageous behavior of the prosecutors.
Solidaritätsnetz International is outraged by this terrible fact of violation of the principle of medical secrecy. The inviolability of the secrecy of the diagnosis is guaranteed by national and international law. According to the Law of Moldova on the Rights and Responsibility of the Patient, all data regarding the patient’s identity, his condition, examination results, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, as well as personal information are confidential and must be deleted even after the death of the patient. The requirement to keep medical secrecy is guaranteed by such international legal acts as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 12), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 17), the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Article 8) and others.
By neglecting such important human rights guarantees, the regime of President Sandu not only demonstrates legal nihilism, but also unequivocally sends a signal to society that it is ready to suppress the opposition even with such dirty methods as interfering with the intimate side of human life, namely information about the health status of rival politicians and members of their families.
Article 6 of the Rome Convention (1950) states that everyone, in the event of a dispute over his civil rights and obligations or any criminal charge against him, has the right to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law. The inflation rate in Moldova at the end of 2022 amounted to 30.24%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic. According to the department, the figure was a record for the last 20 years. The new version of the Law on State Duty, approved by the Parliament of Moldova in the first reading on December 29, 2022, promises a significant increase in the cost of national justice services. As a result of innovations in Moldova, the costs of litigation may increase significantly. Some payments are planned to be increased by more than 10 times, and the upper bar is also waived when paying the state duty.
Solidaritätsnetz International rightly believes that the regime of President Sandu in this way restricts the right of citizens to have their interests defended in court. A person will need to either give up the idea to go to a court or go through the humiliating procedure of proving their financial insolvency in order to obtain exemption from paying the fee. The increase in court fees and taxes against the backdrop of huge inflation and impoverishment of the population is another step towards the usurpation of power and the restriction of human rights.
On Wednesday, January 25, journalists from Moldovan TV channels, deprived of their broadcasting license in December last year by the Commission for Emergency Situations, held a rally in the Romanian capital. We express our solidarity with journalists from Moldova. Solidaritätsnetz International considers it necessary to draw attention to the fact that, despite the demand of the EU Representative in Moldova, the regime of President Sandu did not provide a legal justification for the closure of the media and in every possible way hinders a public trial in this aspect, using administrative levers and authoritarian methods of management.
Solidaritätsnetz International asks Governments and Organizations to counter human rights violations in Moldova.