Moldova police officers held for exceeding jurisdiction; making murder threats

Earlier: Official police ID of narc from Moldova who was caught red-handed in Tiraspol in a drug smuggling bust

BENDER (Tiraspol Times) - Law enforcement in Pridnestrovie, also known as Transnistria, arrested two Moldovan police officers for making murder threats and using violence against a PMR citizen as part of an investigation which took place in December. During the investigation, the Moldovan officers overstepped their jurisdiction, as the alleged crimes took place on Pridnestrovie's territory, but without Pridnestrovie's knowledge or advance permission.

Igor Mihailenco and Eugen Caraman have been charged with attempted murder, explained a spokesman for Pridnestrovie's Ministry of Internal Affairs:
" - The two Moldovans are held under Article 104 of the Criminal Code of the PMR; attempted murder," said Konstantin Kalinenak.

" - On 20 December, police Lt. Igor Mihailenco and Eugen Caraman used force to break into an apartment in Bender. Using violence, the they undertook an illegal interrogation of a member of the household at gunpoint," reported Kalinenak.

For the past 25 days, local law enforcement collected witness testimony and investigated the circumstances of Mihailenco's and Caraman's activities. During the latest meeting of the Joint Control Commission overseeing activities in the buffer zone, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Pridnestrovie instructed the authorities to proceed with the investigation of the incident.

Within the next three days, prosecutors will decide if they will press charges or if the men will be handed over to Moldovan law enforcement for processing.
" - We will either extend the arrest or release the two officers, in which case they will be handed over to another government agency," said Kalinenak.

Moldova calls the arrests illegal and have demanded the unconditional release of the detainees. Instead of requesting to examine the dossier and witness testimony in the case, Moldova quickly relased a statement calling the charges trumped-up and fictitious. It does not, however, deny that the officers committed acts outside their jurisdiction and acted without any permits from the Transnistrian side.

Time for a reality check

" - Now, before we get caught up in hysterics, maybe it is time for a little reality check here," cautions Mark Street, editor of the newspaper and news website Tiraspol Times.
" - Police from one country has no jurisdiction to operate in another country. It is as simple as that. You can't just cross into someone else's jurisdiction, burst into people's homes, and start interrogating them at gunpoint. It doesn't work that way, guys."

Street, a British journalist, points out that even though Moldova claims jurisdiction over what it calls Transnistria, there is another small matter: A 1992 ceasefire agreement which clearly specifies who can act where, and how. It recognizes the PMR government's jurisdiction in the specifically defined territory, and also makes it clear that if Moldova wants to do something - for instance, set up its own roadblocks or interrogate witnesses - then this must first be coordinated with the peacekeepers in the demilitarized buffer zone. Filtered by the Joint Control Commission, which Moldova is part of, all decisions are taken by consensus. Only when the multilateral peacekeeping body allows it can Moldovan officials operate unhindered. Any unilateral action is illegal and will be reversed in accordance with the agreements which Moldova has signed and ratified.

" - It is just plain crazy to think that they could get away with anything else. They are out of their jurisdiction. It is that simple. They are not allowed to operate this way. It is similar to, say, a Nigerian police chief who flies to Texas and unilaterally start bursting into people's homes in order to investigate, or interrogate suspects, or whatever. What would happen? In short order, he would be arrested by the U.S. authorities. Borders define who can do what, and where. It is like this everywhere in the world," says Street.

The Joint Control Commission met Tuesday in Bender to familiarize itself with the case of the latest arrests and make recommendations. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE, were also notified of the arrest and OSCE representatives are involved to make certain that the detainees are treated fairly and that their case is dealt with correctly.

Despite frequest politically-influenced skirmishes with neighboring Moldova, officials from the government in Pridnestrovie (Transdniester) have assured international organizations that the latest case will be handled without political overtones and have requested Moldova's cooperation in treating this strictly as a routine criminal matter, as opposed to a political incident.

" - There is nothing political in this. These two men broke the law, and we are doing our job to make sure that they are sanctioned for that," says Kalinenak.

Not the first arrest, nor will it be the last

This is far from the first case where Moldovan police officers have been arrested in connection with crimes committed on Transnistrian territory. Nor will it be the last, say sources close the investigation.

On 14 May 2006, Pridnestrovie's border control arrested members of a Moldovan drug gang and confiscated a haul of narcotics bound for Ukraine. Among the arrested: Julian Kalos, an active-duty police officer of the Republic of Moldova whose duties were to combat narcotics traffic.

The case uncovered official involvement from Moldova in the drug trade. Moldova, Europe's poorest country, is often called a proto-state of thoroughly criminalized links between political groups and international drug runners, many with Muslim connections.

When busted, the narcotics officer of Moldova's police force attempted to avoid arrest and offered a bribe to Pridnestrovie's police who turned him down and instead documented this fact in the official police report. It is not the first time that official government employees of Moldova have been caught smuggling anything from drugs to arms to the Middle East.

In Moldova, there is clear and unrefutable evidence of weapons trafficking to groups in the Middle East. In 2002 the US Government sanctioned two Moldovan companies for selling selling small arms and other military equipment to Iran. Later, an investigation put the spotlight on the transfer of huge amounts of Kalashnikov rifles and ammo to Islamic troublespots. To the extent that this Moldovan traffic goes through the territory of Pridnestrovie, authorities in Pridnestrovie have consistently arrested the offenders, irrespective of their protected status in Moldova and government ties.

" - If you do the crime, be prepared to do the time," says Kalinenak. "Anyone who commits a crime in Pridnestrovie can look forward to getting arrested. If they are Moldovan police officers, that obviously complicates things a bit. But their police badges are not 'Get Out of Jail Free' cards. They will still get arrested."