Moldova 2025
The rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly were arbitrarily restricted. Torture and other ill-treatment remained unaddressed, and impunity prevailed for past violations. Discrimination against LGBTI people remained commonplace. The remote prescription of abortive medicines was banned. Substantial barriers continued to impact Moldova’s climate change targets. In Russian-occupied Transnistria media freedom was further suppressed and new legislation prohibited the promotion of “non-traditional sexual relations”.
Background
The economic slowdown continued, underpinned by sluggish growth and high energy costs which eroded the economic well-being of lower-income groups. Russian-occupied Transnistria experienced electricity blackouts, affecting several enterprises, after the Russian gas supply via Ukraine stopped and Moldova’s offer to supply EU-sourced gas was rejected. Parliamentary elections in September reduced the majority of the governing Party of Action and Solidarity. Allegations of Russian interference and vote-buying persisted. The elected leader of the autonomous Gagauzia region, Evghenia Guțul, was arrested and imprisoned for arranging illegal Russian funding for a political party.
Freedom of expression
Delicensing of pro-Russian TV channels without due process guarantees continued. In March, the Council for the Promotion of Investment Projects of National Importance suspended TVC21’s broadcasting licence for 60 days for allegedly failing to disclose full information about the holding company’s ultimate beneficiaries.
Pro-European media remained financially extremely vulnerable, with many hugely affected by the discontinuation of USAID funding. According to several media outlets, certain pro-government politicians allegedly sought to influence editorial choices by suggesting that unfavourable coverage could jeopardize access to foreign grants.1
Gagauzia-based news site Nokta.md suffered repeated distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks, which it linked to its criticism of the region’s authorities.
Freedom of peaceful assembly
On 30 April, parliament introduced heavy fines for soliciting, accepting or receiving financial incentives to attend public assemblies, including those deemed to be “aimed at … political advertising”. The authorities explained the introduction of the measure as a response to mounting allegations of street protests and other forms of political opposition being funded from Russia. The new legislation was vaguely worded, lacked legal clarity, and potentially restricted protected practices of remuneration and compensation ensuing from holding public events.
Torture and other ill-treatment
The structural issues behind torture and other ill-treatment in places of custody remained unaddressed. Local human rights monitors continued to report instances of torture and other ill-treatment, and the authorities’ failure to investigate them effectively.
In its report published in March, the Prosecutor General’s Office recorded seven allegations of torture and 306 of inhumane and degrading treatment in 2024. This represented a slight increase in the alleged cases of torture and a decrease in the number of allegations of ill-treatment compared to its previous report covering 2023. Detainees in adult and juvenile penitentiary institutions continued to suffer overcrowding, unsanitary and otherwise inadequate detention conditions and inadequate health provision.
Impunity
Impunity for past human rights violations by members of law enforcement agencies prevailed.
There was no further investigation in connection with the abduction and forcible return of seven Turkish teachers to Türkiye by Moldovan security services in 2018, beyond the 2020 conviction of the former director of the Security and Intelligence Services, whose penalty was a fine for a related economic offence.
No further investigations were conducted into the allegations of wide-scale torture and other ill-treatment of peaceful protesters by police in 2009.
LGBTI people’s rights
On 15 June, approximately 1,000 people joined the Moldova Pride march in the capital, Chişinău, despite a ban imposed by the City Council. Law enforcement officers did not cordon off one of the streets used to traffic, insisting that participants instead use the pavement. The organizers were fined MDL 1500 (USD 90) for “blocking the traffic” after those taking part failed to keep to the pavement only. The fine was challenged and cancelled in court. Two counter-protests were held at the same time, with the participants of one of them holding anti-LGBTI posters.
Women’s and girls’ rights
In January, the Ministry of Health banned medical abortions via telemedicine (remote prescription of abortive medicines), citing safety issues, after receiving an anti-abortion petition signed by 19 people. The decision was taken without consulting medical professionals or civil society representatives working on women’s rights.
Right to a healthy environment
Moldova published its third NDC in May. It included plans to expand forests by 145,000 hectares by 2032 to enhance carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation.
Climate-driven disasters cost Moldova 1.3% of its GDP each year, according to the Stockholm Environment Institute. Its May report stated that, although Moldova had committed to reducing emissions by more than 70% by 2030 and had established a national framework aiming for climate neutrality by 2050, there were substantial barriers to achieving these goals. They included the lack of a functional National Commission on Climate Change; insufficient domestic funding; limited, albeit growing, local innovation capacity in green and digital solutions; and underdeveloped adaptation actions.
Transnistria
Freedom of expression
Media freedom was further suppressed by the de facto authorities. In March a draft law was tabled in the legislature proposing fines for “journalists of media outlets registered in foreign states” who operate in the region without prior approval from the de facto authorities. This would include journalists from the government-controlled territory of Moldova.
LGBTI people’s rights
New provisions enacted in July by the de facto authorities prohibited “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations and/or preferences” as well as the promotion of “sex change” and a childfree lifestyle. The provisions introduced severe penalties for such “offences” including heavy fines, “administrative detention” for up to 15 days, deportation of a foreign “offender” (which included Moldovan nationals from the government-controlled territory), and suspension of media platforms for up to 90 days.