This is video of a 23-year-old student who came back to Moldova from studying in France to vote in last week's election. After the Communist Party claimed victory (amidst accusations that the elections were rigged), he, like many other students joined in protests against the government. He tells JurnalTV that the protests were peaceful, and that after being arrested by government police, he was beaten by them "continually from Tuesday to Thursday" for assisting a Swedish news crew in translating from Romanian. Apparently, when his mother inquired as to where she could find him, she was told to "go look in the morgue".
Sources from Moldova have been telling me that the government has blocked social media sites in the state in attempts to cut people off from releasing stories and images of what is happening there. They also tell me that up to 500 people have been beaten and arrested, and many fear that those arrested could be killed, and that some might already be dead.
I have also been told that several journalists have been kidnapped by people thought to be secret government agents. A Moldovan news agency said several journalists have been detained; one, a woman, by four men dressed in white civilian clothes. She and another were released after being questioned, and said they were told "not to spread lies" about the situation there. At least one remains unaccounted for.
It has also been reported that an airplane from Russia landed at Chisinau International Airport Wednesday night, and seen being carried off it were crates of grenades and tear gas canisters, all thought to be for the government's police in their attempts to subdue protesters who they say have turned violent.
Protesters, on the other hand, claim instigators were purposely placed in the crowds by government officials to induce violence and place blame for destruction and violence on the protesters themselves. The protesters say their motives are purely peaceful, and that police brutality has led to some of the violence by protesters.
International Organizations Amnesty International and Reporters sans frontières have pushed for fairness for protesters and journalists and protection from police brutality.
"[Amnesty International] urges the authorities to independently and thoroughly investigate reports of use of excessive force by police. Detainees should also be promptly charged with a recognizable criminal offence or released and granted access to lawyers, doctors, and to have their families informed about their detention," read a statement released by an Amnesty International spokesperson.
Clear lines have been drawn between the government and protesters, and with both sides often releasing conflicting information, it is sometimes difficult to sift through. It does seem that a repressive Communist government has overstepped its boundaries and infringed upon some civil liberties, however.
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