ECtHR condemns Russia for severe abuses in transnistrian region, awards over €100,000 to five victims
On 23 October 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued a judgment confirming serious human rights violations in the Transnistrian region. Four cases involving five residents of the region were successfully pursued by claimants represented by lawyers from the Promo-LEX Association. The Court established that the Russian Federation was responsible for illegal detentions, inhumane treatment, and restrictions on freedom of expression and movement. As a result, Moscow was ordered to pay a total of over 100,000 euros in compensation. While the Republic of Moldova was not found guilty, the judgment underscores the vulnerability of citizens living on the left bank of the Nistru and emphasizes the urgent need for protective measures.
Documented abuses and court decisions
The four cases - Ilcenco, Vardiașvili, Ahmetșin and Mustea - describe a consistent picture of abuses committed by the force structures subordinate to the de facto administration in Tiraspol. In all cases, the ECtHR established that the Russian Federation bears responsibility for the actions of this administration, which is under its effective control, a Promo-LEX press release states.
Sergei and Nicolae Ilcenco, father and son, both journalists from Tiraspol, were targeted in 2015 for their critical work against the Transnistrian regime. Sergei was arrested for four months and held in degrading conditions. The Court recognized inhuman treatment, confiscation of property and obstruction of freedom of expression, ordering the payment of compensation of 26,000 and 7,500 euros, respectively.
In the case of Serghei Vardiașvili, who was wrongfully detained and forcibly expelled from Dubăsari for alleged administrative violations, the ECtHR found inhuman treatment, arbitrary detention and ethnic discrimination. The Russian Federation was ordered to pay him 20,000 euros in damages for moral suffering.
Rausan Ahmetșin was convicted and imprisoned by the unrecognized courts in Tiraspol, despite the annulment of the sentence by the legitimate authorities of the Republic of Moldova. The ECtHR declared his detention illegal and the treatment he received degrading, establishing compensation of 20,000 euros.
In the case of Petru Mustea, who was held in pre-trial detention for almost three months without legal grounds, the Court recognized the violation of the right to liberty. It condemned the inhumane conditions of detention and awarded him 15,000 euros in compensation.
Promo-LEX reaction: Russia – directly responsible for abuses
“The decision reconfirms the direct imputability of the Russian Federation for the actions of the Tiraspol regime, an instrument of repression maintained by Moscow’s support”, stated lawyer Vadim Vieru, Director of the Human Rights Program within Promo-LEX.
Lawyer Nicoleta Hriplivîi emphasized that the decision highlights “a painful institutional vacuum” and the lack of a protection mechanism for victims of abuses in the region: “The Republic of Moldova has the obligation to protect its citizens, even where it does not have effective control.”
“The Russian Federation remains responsible for the suffering of these people, and the ECtHR decisions demonstrate that the victims of separatist regimes are not forgotten”, also stated Alexandru Postica, member of Promo-LEX.
Appeal to the authorities in Chisinau
Promo-LEX calls on the Government of the Republic of Moldova to take concrete measures to prevent and combat abuses in the Transnistrian region.
According to the organization, the Government must treat the protection of human rights in the left bank of the Nistru as a national priority and create an adequate support and reporting mechanism for victims. At the same time, the constitutional authorities should provide victims with medical, psychological and legal rehabilitation services, as well as use diplomatic levers more insistently for the release of political prisoners. "Each political prisoner represents a broken destiny that must be repaired, and Chisinau has a duty not to abandon them", Promo-Lex informed.
The plaintiffs benefited from free legal assistance from Promo-LEX lawyers, and these cases strengthen the ECtHR jurisprudence on Russia's responsibility for abuses in Transnistrian region. "By representing victims before the ECtHR, Promo-LEX lawyers contributed to creating an important legal precedent and gave a voice to those silenced by the Tiraspol regime", reads the press release.
