Template Letter to Ambassador of Moldova: to express concern at the suicide on Monday night, 6 December, a 27 year old gay man who took his own life following an incident of homophobic harrassment by the Moldovan police earlier that day.   Copy & adapt or amend as you see fit. (It has been suggested that once bureaucrats have read the first letter they tend to count the number of similar ones in deciding what to do with them.)

Embassy of Moldova

Mrs. Mihaela MANOLI Chargé d’Affaires, Edensor Road, London W4 2ST 

10 December 2010

Dear Mrs Mihaela Manoli,

Gay Suicide After Police Harrassment in Chişinau

I am writing to tell you of my concern to hear of the suicide on Monday night, of a 27 year old gay man who took his own life following an incident, in Chişinau with Moldovan police earlier that day. 

My observations are based on an account by Gender Doc-M, the NGO working for the human rights of LGBT people in Moldova who suggest this involved homophobic harrassment by the police officers.  Such a violation of basic human rights and dignity would be unacceptable at any time, but it is particularly hard to hear on the day before 10 December, the UN Day for Human Rights.

As I understand it, the incident started when a police car arrived at a known “cruising area” in Chişinau.  Only one of the police officers, Sergiu GAINA, presented his identity, his anonymous colleague was armed.  The incident was witnessed by a male staff member from Gender Doc-M while he was doing outreach and HIV prevention work.  I understand that he attempted to engage with the police officers but as he felt the situation was deteriorating, he decided to contact the President of Gender-Doc-M.  His intervention resulted in their release but not before the police had taken the personal details of these two men, including their work addresses. 

Shockingly, the Gender Doc-M report suggest that this incident, which was witnessed by one of their outreach workers is consistent with the pattern of police behaviour towards LGBT people in Moldova.  They also suggest that this pattern involves police officers pressuring men who come to the “cruising areas”, using their position and professional knowledge as officials to blackmail or threaten them and even to detain them at police station with no justification.   In their press release suggest that there will be no investigation into the circumstances of the events leading to this man’s death. 

Gender Doc-M indicate that they have appealed to the Ministry of Interior and General Police Department to investigate such cases and to put an end to such abuses of power but they have never received a reply. It would seem that high ranking police officials seem to accept or ignore these human rights violations.

I am aware that a wide body of opinion in Moldova hopes for EU membership, and incidents like these and the many others violations of human rights at the hands of officials is in clear contradiction to Moldova’s existing international treaty obligations, namely her ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights in 1997.  If Moldova cannot or will not honour her international treaty obligations to human rights of her own citizens, it is hard to have confidence in any other commitments she might make with respect to EU membership.

The European Convention on Human Rights, contained Article 14, Freedom from Discrimination, would seem to have been breached in this incident.  This article applies to LGBT people just as it applies to any other as has been explicitly dealt with by the European Court on Human Rights in the Bączkowski Five ruling (May 2007).  This ruling also was unanimous in its declaration that “Gay” parades were every bit as much protected by Article, Freedom of Assembly.

It is hard not to notice the flagrant breach by the Mayor of Chişinau as recently as May 2010 when he once again banned the Moldova Gay PRIDE parade but did not ban the “anti-PRIDE” parade.  Where it not for this suicide, this behaviour by a “Liberal” and pro-European mayor would be laughable as it is, it demonstrates the high levels of ignorance in Moldovan society about “homosexuality” and the need for Moldovan people to meet real LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people so that they can dispel the many myths and prejudices about them.

I urge the Moldovan government to demonstrate its commitment to its existing treaty obligations and to basic values of democracy and human rights, as well as its good faith towards its EU negotiating partners by instigating an immediate enquiry into the circumstances of the events leading up to this suicide, which would seem to indicate the need at the very least for some kind of education programme for Moldovan police officers.

Yours sincerely| Cu salutari cordiale

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EU Commissioner Viviane Reding, European Commission Vice-President in charge of Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, BE-1049 Brussels, Belgium