Transnistrian authorities illegally held Moldovan truck

The Transnistrian authorities have illegally held a truck with Moldovan number plates transporting construction materials meant for the construction of a church in the village of Corjova, Dubasari district. The incident took place on 11 August at a check point of the peacekeeping forces situated near the village of Cocieri.

The head of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Moldova (HCHRM), Stefan Uritu, has said that the reason cited by the representatives of the Tiraspol regime for arresting the truck was that it "entered illegally the territory of the self-proclaimed Moldovan Transnistrian republic". Yet, he said, this reason has no legal basis because both Cocieri and Corjova are under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Moldova.

The acting Corjova mayor, Valeriu Mitul, and representatives of the village’s religious community had tried to peacefully settle the situation calling on the Joint Control Commission to this end.

Uritu said these actions violate several human rights, among which the right to free movement, to choose an occupation, to ownership, to freely use one’s property and the right to religious association for the parishioners in the village who are prohibited to build up a church.

At the same time, the actions undertaken by the Tiraspol regime run counter to the 1992 Moldovan-Russian ceasefire agreement, Uritu said.