2003 Report by the Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Theo van Boven


Republic of Moldova

Urgent appeals

1145. On 12 March 2002, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group on arbitary detention on behalf of Ivan Burgudji, an ethnic Gagauz Representative in Transdniestria and Head of Legal Department of Gagauz People's Assembly, who was reportedly arrested at gunpoint in his office on 8 March 2002 by a group of unknown civilians who had entered the building of the Gagauz People's Assembly in Comrat. He was allegedly beaten. It was believed that the civilians who carried out the arrest were members of the special batallion "Fulger" of the Moldovan Ministry of Interior, whose commander had reportedly been nominated as new Moldovan Minister of Interior. The Organisation on the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Moldova is said to have tried to contact the Moldovan Minister of Interior and the Moldovan General Prosecutor to establish the present whereabouts of Ivan Burgudji with no avail.

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small logo   This report has been published by Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights on August 2, 2005.