24/10/2012 Monitoring
Strasbourg, 24.10.2012 – The two co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of Moldova, Lise Christoffersen (Norway, SOC) and Piotr Wach (Poland, EPP/CD), have expressed their concern at the investigation and prosecution in Transnistria of Alexander Bejan, an 18-year-old high school student, on charges of "threat of a terrorist act".
Speaking at the end of a one-day visit to Transnistria (18 October 2012), the two co-rapporteurs welcomed and supported the progress achieved under the 5+2 negotiations to settle the Transnistrian conflict, but said the prosecution of the student raised many questions: “We will carefully follow the legal procedure, but in the meantime we call on the de facto authorities to ensure that Alexander Bejan is given a fair trial and provided with adequate legal protection, in compliance with the European Convention of Human Rights, which applies in Transnistria."
The co-rapporteurs also expressed the hope that the de facto authorities of Transnistria and the Russian authorities would execute without delay the decision of the European Court of Human Rights of 19 October 2012 finding a violation of the right to education in Moldovan/Romanian language schools in Transnistria.
Finally, the co-rapporteurs reiterated the readiness of the Assembly to assist all stakeholders in promoting a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
The co-rapporteurs had raised the student’s case, and other human-rights-related issues, with the de facto Ombudsman of Transnistria Mr Kalko during their visit. They also visited Bejan's Latin-script school and met with NGO representatives. They announced their intention to discuss human rights issues with the de facto authorities of Transnistria during their next visit in 2013, as officials had been unavailable to meet them on this occasion due to other commitments.