Moldova detainees abused, says UN official

Hundreds of young people detained after anti-government protests in Moldova have been subjected to "cruel, inhuman or degrading" treatment and denied access to legal advice,

a United Nations official says.

Detainees described being beaten with clubs, water bottles, fists and feet, according to a confidential report that includes evidence provided by the UN human rights adviser in the country and seen by the Financial times

The report says there is abundant evidence prisoners were being held in inhumane conditions with 25 to 28 individuals in 8m-square cells, denied food and given only limited access to water and basic sanitary facilities.

Hundreds of young people in Chisinau were arrested last week after protests against the outcome of elections 10 days ago turned violent when a group of protesters stormed the parliament and presidency buildings, setting the former ablaze. The protesters claim the Communist party, which won 49 per cent of the vote, stole the election.

The government declined to comment on the report, but referred to an earlier statement by the interior ministry that there would be no investigation into police brutality since no such cases had taken place.

Edwin Berry, the UN human rights adviser, said he had not written the report but confirmed it was based on evidence he gathered during a prison visit made on Saturday. "I did see evidence of acts of cruel and unusual punishment," he said.

The report is based on a visit to a single detention centre. A delegation consisting of Mr Berry and representatives of the country's National Preventative Mechanism on Torture, an officially sanctioned group of human rights organisations, was denied access to two other jails, in spite of legislation that allows them to conduct unannounced visits to any detention centre.

The report says detainees were "brought before a judge in blocks of six" and "collectively charged . . . [by means of] a template document. At no time did [the] detainees have access to a legal council".

Moldova's Constitutional Court on Sunday agreed to stage a recount of last week's election after thousands of people took to the streets to protest against alleged police brutality and mass arrests.

The recount takes place on Wednesday.

The communists, who are popular with older people and the many Slavic-speakers marooned in the former Soviet Republic after the collapse of the Soviet Union, have presided over eight years of strong growth in Moldova, a country of 4.4m sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine.

The communist president, Vladimir Voronin, has said last week's violence formed part of a Romanian-backed attempted "coup" and he has questioned the loyalty of the many Moldovans who hold dual Romanian citizenship.

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