CASE N° MOL/01 - ILIE ILASCU - REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

Resolution adopted without a vote by the Inter-Parliamentary Council
at its 166th session (Amman, 6 May 2000)

The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Referring to the outline of the case of Mr. Ilie Ilascu, a member of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, as contained in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/166/16(c)­R.1), and to the relevant resolution adopted at its 165th session (October 1999),

Taking account of the information provided on 22 December 1999 and 30 April 2000 by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and of a letter from the Chairman of the State Duma dated 24 April 2000,

Recalling the following information on file:

• Mr. Ilie Ilascu and five others were arrested in 1992 in Tiraspol, the capital of the self-proclaimed “Moldovan Republic of Transdniestr”; the arrests took place in the context of the war that followed the Republic of Moldova's declaration of independence and the ensuing secession of Transdniestr; at the close of a trial which took place from 23 April to 9 December 1993 and during which, according to the Council of Europe, fundamental rules of due process were violated, Mr. Ilascu was found guilty of the murder of two “civil servants” and secessionist “authorities” and of terrorist activities and sentenced to death;
• On 3 February 1994, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Moldova, whose jurisdiction includes Transdniestr since the region is a part of the Republic of Moldova under international law, considered an appeal against the sentencing of Mr. Ilie Ilascu and his co-accused and decided to quash the sentence and order the release of Mr. Ilascu and the others; however, since Transdniestr is under the de facto control of the secessionist authorities, this judgment has not been executed;
• Mr. Ilascu was subjected to physical and mental ill-treatment, in particular mock executions, and is reportedly held under harsh conditions, which are said to have worsened in the past year; according to the source, he does not receive the medical treatment he needs; on 28 September 1999, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe called on the separatist authorities of Transdniestr to permit a visit by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Mr. Ilascu and his colleagues,

Recalling that, according to the Council of Europe, Mr. Ilascu and his colleagues should be brought before the Moldovan courts, the only ones to be recognised internationally in this case, and retried,

Considering that Mr. Ilascu has filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights against the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation, alleging a violation of Article 2 (right to life), Article 3 (freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment) and Article 5 (right to liberty and security of person) of the European Convention on Human Rights; that the complaint was registered in May 1999,

Bearing in mind the impediment which the presence of the Fourteenth Russian Army and its military installations present for a solution to the Transdniestr problem, the backdrop to the Ilascu case, and noting in this connection that, according to an agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation signed on 21 October 1994, Russia pledged to withdraw these troops within three years of the entry into force of the agreement; that the agreement has still not entered into force and, as stated in the draft report of the Council of Europe's Monitoring Committee of 26 February 1999, the Russian State Duma withdrew the item relating to ratification of the agreement from its agenda in January 1999,

Considering that, according to a letter from the Chairman of the State Duma dated 24 April 2000, the “ Ilascu case is not part of [the responsibilities of the] plenipotentiary organisations of the Russian Federation, but the State Duma many times proposed to move him to the territory of another State where he could stand fair trial”,

1. Remains indignant at Mr. Ilie Ilascu's trial, sentencing and subsequent imprisonment, which, being attributable to an organ of a territorial entity not recognised under international law, are devoid of any legal basis and must be considered legally null and void;
2. Deeply regrets the absence of any improvement in Mr. Ilascu's situation, and again requests the Secretary General to make all possible representations, particularly to the parliamentary authorities of the Russian Federation and Ukraine, as guarantor States, with a view to securing Mr. Ilascu's transfer to the non-separatist part of the Republic of Moldova or another sovereign State where he will be retried by an independent and impartial court, and to obtain permission for the ICRC to visit Mr. Ilascu and his colleagues;
3. Urges the State Duma to do its utmost to ensure that the agreement of 21 October 1994 is ratified and executed since this would facilitate a settlement of the Ilascu case;
4. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the competent authorities and take all possible steps to secure the transfer of Mr. Ilascu and his group to the non-separatist part of Moldova or another independent State;
5. Requests the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session (October 2000).

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