She approached and asked us who we are. She looked incredulous, then, followed us, step by step, wherever we went. Suddenly, she stopped us. She said it hurt a lot and she has marks on her back. Intonation and her eyes were telling us that we should know her story. In front of us was another victim, an unknown one until now.

She was breathing hard and was watching around with fear. Meanwhile, she was telling the nightmare of her life. While reporting, her respiration was intensifying. She was one step from having an epileptic fit. She clenched hes fingers in psychologist in front of her, who seemed to be her only salvation.

“He mocked her… by force”

On 3rd of April 2014, ZdG was reporting the story of few beneficiaries from Psycho-Neurological Boarding in Balti, who are blaming the therapist, Stanislav Florea, of rape. About Veronica (name changed), until now, nothing was known. She has a boyfriend, with whom she lives on the territory of the boarding. She, sometimes, goes to the city, where she is working, thus having the opportunity to make extra money. Veronica was abused while her concubine was missing from the hospital. She went out to throw the garbage pail. The therapist would have called her to his home. Veronica went, because she was used to trust the staff at the boarding. What followed, however, turned into a nightmare of her life. The doctor would have taken her to the kitchen, locking the door behind her, then he forced her to drink wine. “That was not wine, it was poison. Poison was. I did not know”, says the young obviously stressed.

Then, the man took off her clothes, forcing her to lay on the carpet. “He mocked me. I chewed my back of the carpet, as it was pricking. After that, I could not sleep at all on the back”, says Veronica. “She told me that he made her drink wine and then, moked her … by force”, sais the woman’s concubine. The doctor should have raped her perversely, which had consequences not only on the psyche, but also on her physical state. “I could not go to the toilet. I was bleeding. I could neither stand nor sit”, says Veronica trembling. While recounts, her breath quickens and woman clench her fingers in psychologist’s arm, who, in the end, succeed to sit her on the chair and calm her down.

“Many girls went through this”

Veronica’s boyfriend sat next to her without saying a word, just looking at her with pity and smoothing her hand. Her friend also approached, to pave her head. Veronica’s friend says that “many girls went through this”. Noone can divulge the exact number of victims. It’s hard to find all the victims, not only because they are afraid to speak, but also because of beneficiaries transfer from one boarding to another. “In fact, no one went to those boardings to talk to beneficiaries. If an investigation would be conducted, I assure you that they would find more victims”, says lawyer Violeta Gasitoi. Although, according to Veronica, and other beneficiaries of the boarding, staff knew about this case, then being constrained to call an ambulance, though have not called the police.

While talking, one of the victims, about whom we wrote previously, approached another person who, according to her, has also been subjected to sexual violence, but does not figure in the file. Elena ( changed name) says detached, as if talking about someone else. Welcomes you smiling, but as soon as you touch the subject of rape, gets serious, looks down and speaks slowly, not to be overheard by unknown. Elena says she was raped twice, each time in the doctor’s office. Man wouldn’t have physicaly forced her, because Elena did everything she was asked, without objection.

MLSPF, about bloc II

Elena knows from her own experience what means block II. Says she has been closed there repeatedly. She has marks left from administered injections. Although for boarding beneficiaries the block II is associated with prison, where they are subjected to humiliating treatment, according to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family”, placement in the block II is performed by staff on duty in case of aggravation of the primary disease: psychomotor agitation, aggression, increased paranoid hallucinatory syndrome, systematic alcoholization as a danger to himself and others”, says MLSPF.

“The beneficiary is placed until his condition is improved, and if prescribed treatment is not effective, the patient is hospitalized at municipal psychiatric hospital”, adds MLSPF. On the other hand, some beneficiaries are held several months in block II, without being allowed to go outside, but without being redirected to hospital. Also, “neuroleptic medications as: halaperidol, Amenazin, tizartin, triftazin, are given to patients only as a treatment in case of worsening of mental condition, psychomotor agitation, hallucinations, suicidal ideas, that present a danger to others”, communicate Lilia Melnik, the current director of the Psycho-Neurological Boarding from Balti, in her response to the request of the lawyer.

Boarding beneficiaries argue, however, that during the time when the director was Vasile Petic, they were locked in block II as punishment, not treatment. “They have put me an injection and I felt bad afterwards”, reports Elena, who claims that she had got marks left after the multitude of administered injections. On April 3, 2014, when the investigation was published  “Rapes and abortions at Psycho-neurological boarding”, where Vasile Petic deny that he was aware of what happened at the boarding, he was dismissed, by order 155-P “On termination of employment”, announces MLSPF.

Mystery of abortion from the boarding

Remind that Vasile Petic neglected that he knew about the fact that at many beneficiaries of the boarding the pregnancy was interrupted. “I do not know. I never heard of it”, he said, contacted by ZdG. Today, we find out that, according to MLSPF, after consulting the gynecologist was found that four beneficiaries in the file would have been pregnant. “The decision to interrupe the pregnancy is made by the patient’s consent (Annex no. 3 of MH order no. 3 from  06.05.2010) inner Medical Commission of Perinatal Center and, not least, as required by law, at order of MH nr.7820 from 21.09.2010, “On the performance of voluntary interruption of pregnancy in safe conditions” annex No.1 on order of MH nr. 647 from 21.09.2010″, announces MLSPF.

Consequently, according to this statements, women would be given permission for abortion. However, they say that they wanted to give birth, and two of them even claim that they heard their children crying when were born. Subsequently, one of the victims was intimidated by a doctor, who proved to be her godmother. Most people who live at the boarding are baptized by boarding’s workers or medical personnel. “She called me a liar, that I did not gave birth to alive baby. She said she is not my godmother anymore”, she recalls. Shortly after her intimidation, was announced the death of another victim in suspicious circumstances.

Death shrouded in mystery

Laura (name changed), one of the victims that were included in the criminal case in which is investigated Stanislav Florea, died on April 29th. According to the staff at the boarding, she would have had a fit of epilepsy and drowned in the bathtub on the very day beneficiaries bathe. Director of the boarding refused to talk to us, stating that provided all information to MLSPF, and hang up. In the victim’s death certificate is noted “asphyxiation”. Mihaela, another victim, who now lives in a protected apartment, does not believe that Laura’s death was an accident. “She was helped. She never bath twice. This time wasn’t so neither. She bait. Then went to eat. Her hair was wet. I do not live there, but I know, I was told. Then, she went into the room. She was not going to bait twice. She was helped”, is convinced Mihaela.

Prosecutor Oleg Reaboi could not give us information about the victim’s death. “I know there have been filed other complaints to the prosecution by attorney of injured parties. I think they are going to be investigated”, said prosecutor. Recall that this is already the second victim deceased in the file. The first died at the end of January 2014. Lawyer Gasitoi tried to find out from MLSPF the number of deaths, in recent years, at the Psycho-Neurological Boarding from Balti, but the application was rejected, on the grounds that it would be confidential data. We found, however, that from January 2014 to present, nine people died at the boarding, the cause of death, in most cases, being “heart failure”.

Currently, Stanislav Florea, doctor accused by several beneficiaries of Psycho-Neurological Boarding from Balti of rape, is investigated in liberty. Prosecutor Oleg Reaboi could not tell us why the defendant is investigates in liberty, arguing that he started working on this case recently, before the case being investigated by another prosecutor. “The case was sent to trial by indictment. The person accusation was made. The court is to determine which are the evidences brought … In general, if evidences wouldn’t have been brought, the case wouldn’t have been prosecuted”, added Oleg Reaboi.

Olga Bulat