To:
Mrs. Maia SANDU, President of the Republic of Moldova
Mr. Alexandru MUNTEANU, Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova
Mr. Valeriu CHIVERI, Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration
The Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova, the OSCE Mission to Moldova, the OSCE structures in Vienna, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Republic of Moldova, and representatives of the European Parliament involved in relations with the Republic of Moldova
Only two days after the launch of the initial petition, Emilian Ceban was placed in a “punishment cell” as reprisals for statements made by the authorities of the Republic of Moldova
The Promo-LEX Association is filing a repeated petition and urgent public appeal concerning the case of Emilian Ceban, a 22-year-old illegally detained for nearly four years in the Transnistrian region. Only two days after the submission of Promo-LEX’s initial petition of 19 May 2026, a new repressive measure was ordered against Emilian, a measure that places his health, safety, and physical and psychological integrity in immediate danger: beginning on 21 May 2026, Emilian Ceban was placed in disciplinary isolation (“punishment cell” / “kartser”) for a period of 15 days.
According to information obtained from our sources within the “administration” of the penitentiary system on the left bank of the Dniester, this repressive measure was applied as a direct reaction to the public statements made the same day by the President of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Mr. Igor GROSU, regarding the case of Emilian Ceban. In those statements, the President of the Parliament qualified the detention of Emilian Ceban as illegal, condemned the human rights violations committed by the structures from Tiraspol, and called for the swift and unconditional release of the young man, while warning that individuals from the Tiraspol structures involved in such abuses cannot subsequently claim that these violations will remain without consequences in relation to the constitutional authorities of the Republic of Moldova.
This measure illustrates a systemic pattern of reprisals that the structures from Tiraspol apply against persons illegally detained as a response to any form of public visibility of their cases – whether through interventions by the constitutional authorities of the Republic of Moldova, international statements, or appeals by human rights organisations. The objective of such reprisals is evident: to discourage the reporting of abuses, to isolate victims, to reduce public and international pressure, and to send a message of intimidation to other illegally detained persons and their families.
Conditions in the “punishment cell” – testimony of Vadim Pogorlețchi, a former detainee held in the same facility
According to the testimony of Vadim Pogorlețchi, a former illegal detainee in Penitentiary No. 2 in Tiraspol who was recently released and has authorised the use of his statements in the present petition, the punishment cell regime exceeds any minimum standard of human dignity and, through the concrete conditions of its application, constitutes a form of inhuman and degrading treatment.
The “punishment cell” is a cell of approximately 1 × 2.5 meters, without windows, located either in the basement of the institution or on the ground floor. The cell has no natural light, so the detainee cannot tell whether it is day or night outside. Only at night is the detainee allowed to use a metal sleeping platform, accessible only six hours out of twenty-four, usually between midnight and six in the morning. For the remaining time, the guards raise it and secure it using a lever operated from outside the cell, so that the detainee can neither sit nor lie down. During the remaining 18 hours, the person is forced to stand or to remain on the wet floor – a floor onto which the guards deliberately pour water, in order to maximise the risk of serious respiratory illness. No bed linen or hygiene articles are provided.
Approximately one meter of the cell’s space is occupied by a so-called “toilet”, in reality, simply an open hole in the floor, without any separation, a continuous source of unsanitary conditions and unbearable odors. A person placed in the punishment cell is even deprived of the right to a weekly shower. According to Vadim Pogorlețchi’s testimony, if the ordinary detention regime in this penitentiary is already inhuman, the punishment cell regime goes, and I quote, “beyond good and evil”.
Brief recapitulation of the Emilian Ceban case
Emilian Ceban, currently 22 years old, originally from Grigoriopol, was illegally deprived of liberty in 2022, at the age of 18, after he refused to sign a 10-year military contract with the illegal paramilitary structures from Tiraspol and after openly expressing his intention to relocate to the right bank of the Dniester to continue his studies.
Two weeks after his refusal, he was abducted by representatives of the so-called “ministry of state security” (“MGB”), held incommunicado for one month, and subsequently “sentenced” to 12 years of imprisonment on the fabricated charge of “high treason”. The so-called “criminal proceedings” were held behind closed doors, without access to an independent lawyer, and the case file was classified. The only “evidence” invoked by the illegal structures is a photograph of a fuel transport vehicle.
The Emilian Ceban case reflects a systemic practice of militarising children in the Transnistrian region, through institutions such as the “Suvorov military school” (intended for children from the age of 11) and the “A. I. Lebed military institute”, as well as the repressive mechanisms applied to young people who attempt to leave the illegal paramilitary system in which they were trained.
URGENT REQUESTS ADDRESSED TO THE AUTHORITIES OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA AND TO INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS
We address the following requests to all addressee authorities and international partners, given the urgent nature of the situation and the need for a coordinated intervention at the highest level:
- We call upon the constitutional authorities of the Republic of Moldova to undertake, without delay, all diplomatic, political, and dialogue measures at their disposal, including the immediate convening of discussions with representatives of the Tiraspol regime and the mobilisation of support from international partners, in order to obtain:
- the immediate termination of the “disciplinary isolation” measure imposed on Emilian Ceban;
- the exclusion of any forms of pressure or reprisals against him in response to Promo-LEX’s notification of the authorities regarding his case;
- as well as his immediate and unconditional release from illegal detention.
- We address an appeal to development partners and international organisations that are addressees of this petition, the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova, the OSCE Mission to the Republic of Moldova, OSCE Vienna, the Council of Europe, the UN Office for Human Rights, as well as the representatives of the European Parliament for relations with the Republic of Moldova, to express their support and to use all diplomatic channels and instruments at their disposal in order to:
- intervene publicly and diplomatically on behalf of Emilian Ceban and to insist, in dialogue with representatives of the Tiraspol regime, on the immediate termination of the disciplinary isolation measure and on his release;
- request access for the OSCE Mission in order to verify his state of health, the conditions of the punishment cell regime, and his access to medical assistance.
- We fully reiterate the requests formulated through the petition and public appeal of the Promo-LEX Association of 19 May 2026 concerning the case of Emilian Ceban, and we call upon the authorities to take prompt action for their examination and implementation, in coordination with international partners.
Given the urgent nature of the situation and the imminent risk to the health and integrity of Emilian Ceban, the Promo-LEX Association requests the addressee authorities take the necessary measures within the shortest possible time and communicate the actions undertaken.
#FreeEmilian
Promo-LEX Association
23/13 Petru Movilă Street, Chișinău, MD-2004
www.promolex.md