Regime of re-socialization is the shortest way to freedom for prisoners sentenced to many years of imprisonment. A control done by prosecutors this summer in the country prisons revealed a true debauchery in this chapter, especially in the prison N 9 – Pruncul, where was serving, at least theoretically, the penalty, the german Thomas Arend. There, with the consent of the Head of the institution, Victor Tonu, were benefiting, illegally, from traveling without escort, outside the prison, people sentenced to many years for the most serious crimes. Last year, an inmate from prison N. 9 was even involved in a car accident, after which the priest of the village Vatra died.

Last week, officers of the National Anticorruption Centre (NAC) raided the headquarter of Sofi Mobil Ltd, where they arrested Thomas Arend, who was serving his punishment of 11,9 years of prison at P.9.

Subsequently, for 72 hours was also arrested Victor Tonu, head of P.9, who CNA officers suspected favored the freely travels outside the prison, against favors, as Arend had on his name not less than 15 disciplinary sanctions, that didn’t allow him to have a re-socialization regim or travel without escort outside the prison. However, the operation of the NAC was not viewed favorably by everyone. People from within the system say that this was “more for show” because they knew about Arend situation since this summer, when prosecutors asked the head of the P. 9 to cancel the order which allowed Arend to have the right to travel without escort. In the situation of the german have been or still are, others as well.

Convicted at the wheel of a Toyota

On 1^st of December, 2012, for example, Oleg Neamțu was officially in prison N.9 – Pruncul, where he was serving 20 years of prison upon conviction received in 2000 for robbery with use of a weapon and first degree murder. In the evening of that day, at around 21.30, he,   driving a Toyota car, on the route Chisinau-Străşeni, near the village of Vatra, buffered deadly Simeon Costin, who was, for many years, the father-parish of the church “Adormirea Maicii Domnului” from Vatra. After a little while, the priest died, and was buried on December 4, in the churchyard where he served, during a service officiated by His Eminence Metropolitan Vladimir.

Neamţu concealed the accident, returning to prison. About his involvement in the tragedy was found out much later, as only in July 2013, prosecutors opened a criminal case against him. Now the case is pending, at Buiucani court, without the sentence being handed.

During the criminal prosecution, prosecutors found out that the car accident was possible because Neamțu, since June 2008, had been illegally transferred to a re-socialization regime and had been granted the right to travel without escort or accompanied outside the prison, with violation of the law. Prosecutors also started a criminal case on the name Gheorghe Angheluță, duty officer at P. 9 on the day the accident was committed. In order of  the prosecution, prosecutors found that Angheluţă scored in official documents, “Register of making the call at sector no. 8 of P. 9 ” false data, saying that Oleg Neamţu was present at the evening call, though, exactly at that time, he was committing a traffic accident.

A similar tragedy could have taken place this summer. On August 18, Ion Arteni, convicted of a traffic accident resulting in death, being officially at P. 9, was caught by police drunk, driving. Close to midnight, at 23.30, on Orheiului str., Chisinau, on the territory of a gas station, he had a conflict with the guard who enlisted the help of the police, who later found out that Arteni was actually convicted and had no right to leave the territory of P. 9. In November, prosecutors opened a criminal case.

12 of 19 convicted, illegally without escort

The illegalities in Moldovan prisons were notified in August by the representatives of the Prosecutor General (PG). Back then, Corneliu Gurin, Attorney General of the Republic of Moldova has made a referral on behalf of Oleg Efrim, Justice Minister, on the “liquidation of violations committed during the transfer to the regime of re-socialization of convicts and granting the right to travel without escort or accompanied outside prison. ” In the document signed by the Attorney General and received by ZdG is noted that in many prisons in the country were irregularities. Thus, at P.4 from Cricova, although three people who were benefiting of re-socialization regime committed disciplinary violations, they were not deprived from privileged detention regime. However, most violations were detected by prosecutors in P.9.

There, “12 of the 19 prisoners who have been granted the right to travel without escort or accompanied, received it illegally,” is mentioned in the complaint. The document also refers to the German citizen Thomas Arend  convicted by Buiucani court, in 2006, for 11.9 months in prison, in a closed prison. From referral appears that the German had the right to travel without escort or accompanied outside prison since May 2012, that, although the crime for which he was convicted was very serious, and according to the law, he could not take advantage of this privilege. “Similar violations were admitted to convicted Victor Domenti, Vitaly Babără, Oleg Neamţu, Ruslan Shevchenko, George Cibric, Ignatiuc Alexandru, Ion Pruteanu and Alexander Vatavu” writes in his complaint Gurin.

To mention that Vitalie Babără and Ion Pruteanu, who were benefiting from the right to travel without escort or accompanied outside prison from January 2012, in 2008 were sentenced to 18.9 years in prison for attempting on two occasions to brutally kill two taxi drivers in order to steal their cars .Gheorge Cibric, another privileged, was sentenced in 2007 to 18 years in prison. He was found guilty in plotting an ordered murder for 2000 USD, thwarted only after involvement of representatives of the Ministry of Interior.

Control: Three convicts were not present at the time of call

“According to the work plan, we, in July 2013, checked re-socialization regime throughout the prison system. A generalization was made and then a referral on behalf of the Minister of Justice. Were found 12 cases in which there were violations regarding the traveling of prisoners without escort, with the removal to the regime of re-socialization. All these cases were detected in P. 9 and absolutely on all of them was informed Justice Minister. All decisions of the head were challenged by prosecutors. He (Victor Tonu – No) gave us the answer that all individuals were returned to prison and violations of law liquidated, including in the case of Thomas Arend, “said Vitalie Bordea, head-prosecutor of control section of sentences execution and places of detention.

Late last month, the control department representatives of sentences execution and places of detention conducted spot checks in four prisons in the country, including P. 9. “At 10 pm we searched the prisons, we checked the presence, the right of travel without escort. At Pruncul three condemned were not present at the time when the call was made, at 21:30. The three had arrived only at 22.30, drunk. They were checked the right to travel without an escort, and one of them did not meet the rules, just like in the case of Thomas Arend, “said Vitalie Bordea.

Oleg Efrim, Justice Minister, did not respond to ZdG calls, as didn’t answer Zumbreanu Bogdan, head of the prosecution CAN, to make some clarification on the subject. Ana Dabija, Head of Penitentiary Institutions (DPI), an institution that has participated jointly with NAC and Security and Information Service (SIS) in operation from September at P.9, admits irregularities in the system, in terms of the re-socialization regime. “With P.9 we had many problems. Were sanctioned more people. It is a complicated prison because there are several regimes. But there were many violations. We tried different methods of punishment, committee work and now resorted to this method, to work together with other state institutions. With image injury risk, we decided to go to this operation, which we believe will have more effect. I think it is a good lesson for other heads of prisons,” told us Dabija, who believes that the law in this area has several shortcomings.

Victor MOŞNEAG, victor.mosneag@zdg.md