Resolution adopted without a vote by the Inter-Parliamentary Council
at its 169th session (Ouagadougou, 14 September 2001)

The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Referring to the resolution it adopted at its 168th session (April 2001) on the case of Mr. Ilie Ilascu, a member of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova at the time of the submission of the complaint, and to the related report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians,

Recalling that Mr. Ilie Ilascu and five others were arrested in 1992 in Tiraspol, the capital of the self-proclaimed "Moldovan Republic of Transdniestria", which under international law is part of the Republic of Moldova; during a trial in which fundamental rules of due process were violated, Mr. Ilascu was found guilty of murder and terrorist activities and sentenced to death; while in prison he was subjected to physical and mental ill-treatment, including mock executions, and held under harsh conditions that have seriously affected his health; on 3 February 1994, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Moldova, whose jurisdiction includes Transdniestria, considered an appeal against the sentencing of Mr. Ilie Ilascu and his co-defendants and decided to quash the sentence and order the release of Mr. Ilascu and the others; however, since Transdniestria is under the de facto control of the secessionist authorities, that judgment was not executed; Mr. Ilascu has meanwhile taken his case to the European Court of Human Rights,

Recalling further that Mr. Ilascu, a member of the Parliament of Moldova from 1994 to 2000, was granted Romanian citizenship on 4 October 2000 and, on 26 November 2000, was elected a member of the Romanian Senate; owing to his unlawful imprisonment, Mr. Ilascu has been unable to exercise his parliamentary mandate throughout this period,

Recalling that, at its 168th session, it approved a mission to gather information on this case and make progress towards a satisfactory settlement,

Considering that in their communications of 9 and 17 May respectively, the Presidents of the Romanian and Moldovan Inter-Parliamentary Groups reported Mr. Ilascu's release on 5 May 2001, before any mission could be carried out; he has since then taken up his duties as a member of the Senate of Romania,

1. Expresses satisfaction at the release of Mr. Ilie Ilascu and is pleased that he has now taken up his parliamentary mandate; considers that a mission is no longer necessary; and decides to discontinue examining this case;

2. Reaffirms nevertheless its conviction that Mr. Ilascu's trial violated fundamental rules of due process and that his treatment in prison amounted to cruel and inhuman punishment.

Note: you can download a complete electronic version of the brochure "Results of the 106th Conference and related meetings of the Inter-Parliamentary Union" in PDF format (file size approximately 454K). This version requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download free of charge.