On February 23, 2016, the European Court of Human Rights (Court) held [3] that Russia is responsible for the unlawful detention of a criminal suspect under inhuman conditions in Transdniestria. According to the press release [4], Boris Mozer, a Moldovan national, was living in the Moldovan Republic of Transdniestria (MRT), an unrecognized separatist entity that split from Moldova in 1990, when he was arrested on fraud charges by MRT authorities. After Mozer was forced to sign various confessions, the MRT court sentenced him to prison, a sentence the Supreme Court of the Republic of Moldova quashed, stressing that the tribunal had not been established in accordance with Moldovan legislation. During his pre-trial detention, Mozer experienced severe health problems, which were compounded by poor hygienic conditions in his cell. Mozer was also denied visits by his pastor and his parents. The Moldovan government informed Mozer’s parents that “it could not intervene due to the political situation in the Transdniestrian region” and “Moldova’s reservation in respect of its inability to ensure observance of the European Convention on Human Rights [5] in the Eastern regions of Moldova.” The Russian embassy in Moldova forwarded a complaint to the MRT prosecutor, who stated that MRT courts alone were competent to hear any complaints related to cases before them. The Court found that “complaints in respect of the Transdniestrian region fell within both [Russia’s and Moldova’s] jurisdiction.” Since the region was recognized under international law as a part of Moldova’s territory, the state was obliged under Article 1 of the Convention “to use all the legal and diplomatic means available to it to continue to guarantee the enjoyment of the rights under the Convention to those living there,” even though it had no effective control over MRT. The Court ruled Russia was responsible as well, because “the region’s high level of dependency on Russian support gave a strong indication that Russia continued to exercise effective control and decisive influence over the ‘MRT’ authorities,” who would likely be unable to survive without Russian support.

The Court further found that Russia had violated Article 5 of the Convention, because, as the state which had effective control over MRT, it was obliged to ensure that MRT courts formed “part of a judicial system operating on a constitutional and legal basis reflecting a judicial tradition compatible with the Convention.” Noting that “the circumstances in which Mr Mozer had been arrested and the way his detention had been ordered and extended” were incompatible with the Convention, the Court concluded that MRT courts did not comply with Convention standards and his detention had thus been unlawful. Regarding Moldova, the Court highlighted that its Supreme Court had quashed the conviction, and Moldovan authorities had made significant efforts to support Mozer, including through a number of appeals to Russia to protect his rights. The Court further found violations of Articles 3, 8, and 9 because of the failure of MRT authorities to provide Mozer medical help and transfer him to an appropriate holding facility, and the denial of visits by a priest and by his parents.