Moldova: New guide aims to stop Russian-backed paid protests
Citizens in Moldova have the right to protest and express their will, but they face penalties for accepting payments to participate in demonstrations or actions aimed at destabilising the country.
Amid a rise in paid protests, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) has launched a new "Protestor's Guide in the Republic of Moldova."
According to Interior Minister Daniella Misail-Nichitin, the brochure aims to encourage peaceful protests. The guide is described as a concise and explicit document, outlining the rights and responsibilities of protestors.
"It is a right for people to express their will freely in authorised locations, as long as they are considerate of themselves and others. If an authorised route is violated, or if there are provocations of violence or threats against others, police and carabiniers will act in accordance with the law," the minister said.
The brochure outlines protestors’ rights, including the right to free and peaceful expression, to carry placards and symbols, to chant or participate in non-violent actions, and to film and photograph demonstrations.
It also lists legal prohibitions such as assaulting others or law enforcement, destroying property, carrying weapons, dangerous objects, alcohol or drugs, blocking roads without authorisation, or participating in paid protests.
A separate chapter of the guide focuses on the consequences of paid protests. Individuals face fines of 5,000 to 7,500 lei, while organisers and financiers can be fined up to 75,000 lei and banned from public office for three to six months. In more serious cases, such as mass disorder, the Criminal Code provides for prison sentences of up to seven years.
The Interior Minister said the guide is for all citizens, including those attracted by paid protests.
"The brochures will be distributed to all those who intend to protest in crowded places. 'We don't make any distinctions,' she said. Paid protests are penalised under the Contravention Code and, in more serious cases, the Criminal Code. My message to people in Moldova is not to choose 'dirty money' from abroad, but to express their will and opinions freely and with dignity."
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has initially printed 300,000 copies of the guide, for distribution in crowded public spaces. The circulation may be supplemented as needed.
The guide was launched by authorities in Chișinău amid growing paid protests orchestrated by fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, who was convicted of bank fraud and is now in Moscow. Since August 16, he has been attempting to mobilise demonstrators with the promise of paying them up to $3,000 a month or about $100 a day. According to police, the protests’ goal is to destabilise the situation in Moldova ahead of the parliamentary elections on September 28, in the interest of the Russian Federation, which seeks to subvert the election results and impede Moldova's European path.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
