In Moldova’s prisons, it’s not the staff that prisoners fear but other detainees who have created a widespread informal prisoner hierarchy where abuse and intimidation is common, depending on your ‘status.’
What is worse is that custodial staff in these understaffed establishments do little if anything to intervene and stop the widely reported abuse, which is tantamount to torture according to Europe’s anti-torture body.
In a report released Thursday, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment again called out Moldova, a former Soviet republic which lies between EU Romania and Ukraine, for failing to tackle these informal prisoner hierarchies.
The CPT’s report urged Moldova to take “resolute action to tackle the phenomenon.”
It’s just the latest appeal. For years, the CPT has urged Moldova to act against the widespread, ugly phenomenon of ‘frequent verbal abuse, systematically demeaning and dehumanizing behavior of other prisoners, threats of physical violence if they failed to follow the informal “code of conduct”, and even actual physical violence.’
In a visit to three penitentiaries this year, prisoners described “an overall atmosphere of intimidation and violence used by the informal prisoner hierarchy to impose their rules on other individuals held in prison.
Prisoners who were considered of the lowest rank or caste were “humiliated” and called “untouchable”, something which ‘remains a matter of serious concern to the CPT,” the report said adding that its recommendations on the phenomenon and the resulting inter-prisoner violence and intimidation “remain largely unimplemented.”
Delegates visited three prisons in June 2025 to re-examine the treatment and conditions of detention of individuals held in prison and reported that “material conditions in the three establishments visited remained very poor for most prisoners, including a poor state of repair and severe overcrowding.”
However, “informal prison leaders and their close circles were residing in spacious, well-equipped rooms or even apartments consisting of several rooms. “
It said the situation of those individuals in the lowest caste of the informal prisoner hierarchy could be considered to constitute a continuing violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 3 grants freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.
The informal prisoners’ hierarchy is directly linked to a chronic staff shortage, the de facto relinquishment of authority and control over the prison population to informal prison leaders, and the existence of large capacity dormitories and freely accessible unlocked rooms in interconnected sectors, the report said.
On a more positive note, the CPT said there was “progress in addressing several challenges in its prison system.’
Delegates visited prison no. 6 in Soroca and Prison no. 15 in Cricova and visited for the first time Prison no. 2 in Lipcani.
The report noted it received no allegations of physical ill-treatment of prisoners by staff in any of the three establishments visited in 2025. It said the quality of food provided in prisons has improved following the approval of a new norm, as well as the recording and reporting of injuries.
The committee also welcomes the agreement that the Moldovan authorities have concluded with the United Nations Office for Project Services to build a new prison in Chișinău, with part of the funding secured in a loan from the Council of Europe Development Bank.
At the same time, the Moldovan authorities plan to introduce a new, progressive system for the enforcement of prison sentences remains unimplemented. Moreover, there is still no proper risk and needs assessment of individuals upon their admission to prison.
The report noted that authorities had adopted a SAFE Roadmap for the Europeanisation of Moldovan Prisons, underlining that concrete steps were required to implement it effectively.
It also observed striking differences in material conditions and an unequal distribution of prisoners, a situation closely linked with the phenomenon of informal prisoner hierarchy.
The CPT calls on the Moldovan authorities to ensure that individuals held in prison are evenly distributed across available accommodation, and that they are all treated equally and benefit from similar living conditions. Every person held in a multiple‑occupancy cell or dormitory should be provided with at least 4 square metres of living space, in line with CPT standards.
The CPT has published the report under the automatic publication procedure introduced by the Moldovan authorities.The CPT and the Republic of Moldova
***
Moldova displays Russian drone, summons ambassador over ‘unacceptable’ crash
