According to the head of the Foreign Ministry, Pridnestrovie has enough mechanisms and tools in order to protect the interests of citizens in the event of prosecution in Moldova
Answering journalists' questions about how Pridnestrovian citizens can protect their rights in the case when criminal prosecution was opened against them in Moldova for political reasons, Acting Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev emphasized that Pridnestrovians should immediately inform the PMR state authorities about such incidents.
“In my opinion, our citizens cannot and should not be left alone with the “legal steamroller” of the Republic of Moldova, with the pressure put on them. Pridnestrovie has enough mechanisms and tools in order to ensure and protect their interests,” said the head of the Foreign Ministry.
“Pridnestrovie does not refuse any form to protect its citizens. First you need to contact the internal affairs bodies, the Prosecutor’s Office of Pridnestrovie, and, certainly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as taking into account and analyzing this situation, studying the mechanism to solve this problem are one of the main tasks at the level of the negotiation process, it is the sphere of competence of the political representatives of the parties. As part of our responsibility we will take all necessary steps to ensure that our citizens feel protected,” said Vitaly Ignatiev.
Member of the Pridnestrovian delegation in the Joint Control Commission - Head of Department for Organisation and Inspection of the Ministry for Internal Affairs of the PMR Konstantin Kalinyonok, in his turn, reminded that eleven incidents were reported in 2015, when RM police officers tried to detain citizens of Pridnestrovie in Bendery and Dubossary.
“Their relatives quickly informed the police, we went there, and such actions were suppressed. In this context, I would recommend to relatives of those citizens who were detained in the RM for whatever reasons to contact Pridnestrovie’s law enforcement bodies. Certain methods and leverage are at our disposal,” he said.
Continuing the theme, First Deputy Chairman of the Investigation Committee of the PMR Vasily Kovach noted that the citizens of Pridnestrovie who have Russian citizenship, have the right to ask the Investigation Committee of the Russian Federation for help.
“With the assistance of the Investigation Committee of the PMR, which could transfer certain materials to Russian counterparts, it will be a quite effective mechanism. Russia always stands up for its citizens,” said the representative of the PMR IC.
