Young man abducted and illegally detained in Tiraspol, Promo-LEX calls for urgent state intervention
The Promo-LEX Association urges the country's leadership to intervene urgently for the release of Emilian Ceban, a young man who has been illegally detained for nearly four years in the Transnistrian region. This detention occurred after he refused to sign a long-term contract with the so-called Ministry of Defense in Tiraspol upon reaching the age of majority. He also expressed his intention to leave the illegal paramilitary system in which he had been trained since childhood.
The appeal is directed to President Maia Sandu, Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu, and Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Valeriu Chiveri. Promo-LEX urges the authorities to seek support from international partners and to include Emilian Ceban’s case in the discussions with Tiraspol.
According to the organization, Emilian Ceban was drafted into the self-proclaimed Transnistrian army after attending the Suvorov Military School, which is designed for children aged 11 to 17, and later the A.I. Lebed Military Institute in Tiraspol.
In the summer of 2022, just two weeks after he refused to sign a 10-year contract with the so-called Ministry of Defense and expressed his desire to move to the right bank of the Nistru to continue his studies, he was kidnapped by agents from the so-called Ministry of State Security. According to Promo-LEX, the agents confiscated his phone and informed him that he was being accused of "treason."
He was held in complete isolation for a month, during which his family was unaware of his whereabouts, and he had no access to a lawyer to defend his rights or challenge the abuses against him. Later, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Emilian Ceban was accused of transmitting secret information about the Transnistrian army and the Russian Troops Task Force to British intelligence. Now 22 years old, he has been in illegal detention for almost four years. Promo-LEX asserts that his case is not isolated but part of a broader pattern of illegal detentions occurring in 2022 amid the Russian Federation's aggressive actions against Ukraine and the intensified repression in the Transnistrian region.
"The occupation regime in Tiraspol has used such cases to justify the introduction of a so-called 'terrorist alert,' to propagate claims of external threats, and to instill fear among the local population, including young people enrolled in illegal paramilitary structures," the message from Promo-LEX states.
The organization emphasizes that Emilian Ceban never had access to any alleged secret information that the illegitimate Transnistrian authorities claim he transmitted. Furthermore, given that the regime in Tiraspol operates under Russian military occupation, the accusation of "treason" cannot legally justify his imprisonment.
“These circumstances demonstrate that the case was fabricated as a punishment for Emilian Ceban’s attempt to withdraw from the paramilitary system in which he was trained and to deter other young individuals from exiting the illegal Transnistrian military and security structures, particularly in a context marked by multiple crises and personnel shortages,” Promo-LEX states.
The organization warns that Emilian Ceban’s situation reflects a systemic practice of militarizing children and using paramilitary educational institutions as recruitment centers for illegal armed forces. The Suvorov Military School, established by the Tiraspol regime, plays a crucial role in the area's paramilitary system, with 266 children enrolled as of February 2026.
Promo-LEX calls on the constitutional authorities to mobilize diplomatic efforts and to link any measures regarding the provision of natural gas to the Transnistrian region with the release of Emilian Ceban and other illegally detained individuals.
Additionally, Deputy Prime Minister Valeriu Chiveri is urged to place Emilian Ceban's case as a distinct item on the agenda for the next "1+1" meeting with representatives from Tiraspol. He should also seek the support of the OSCE Mission to the Republic of Moldova to facilitate access to the prison where Ceban is held, thereby allowing verification of his physical and psychological condition and the detention conditions.
Deputy Prime Minister Valeriu Chiveri has previously stated that the authorities on the left bank of the Nistru consistently violate human rights, and that the illegal detention of Moldovan citizens in Tiraspol is a priority for both the Chisinau authorities and their international partners. While the official could not provide an exact number of illegal detainees, he estimated that it is “sufficiently large.”
Currently, about 50 individuals among those who have filed applications with the European Court of Human Rights or who have returned from prisons on the left bank of the Nistru are included in this context, according to the deputy prime minister.
