Moldovan justice ministry says ruling by European Court of Human Rights in case of Veaceslav Platon pertains to 2017, not current situation in prisons

The Ministry of Justice has made clarifications regarding the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) pronounced today in the case of Veaceslav Platon. The ministry specified that the decision concerned the period of 2017, not the current situation in prisons.

According to the cited source, the ECtHR decision pertains to the insufficiency of medical assistance and the number of family visits in two individual cases from 2017. The Ministry of Justice emphasizes that these findings reflect the effects of an oligarchic regime and a captured state, when the judicial system was subject to political interests.

The relevant authorities reiterate that, since then, they had implemented firm measures for prevention and remediation in the penitentiary system, including in the prison where Platon was held, by improving detention conditions, medical assistance, respect for human rights and staff training.

The Ministry of Justice specifies that the ECtHR findings do not reflect the current situation in prisons.

Platon has earlier filed a complaint with the ECtHR regarding the material conditions of detention, violation of the right to defense, obstacles in communication with lawyers and the lack of a public hearing on preventive arrest, but all these claims were dismissed by the Court in decisions from 19 March 2019 and 4 June 2024.

The European Court of Human Rights found a violation of Veaceslav Platon’s rights during his detention at penitentiary No. 13 and ruled that Moldova would have to pay him 15,600 euros for moral damages and 2,000 euros for legal expenses.

Businessman Veaceslav Platon, a Moldovan and Ukrainian citizen, was sentenced in 2017 to 18 years in prison in the bank fraud case, but was released a few years later. In 2021, he left Moldova and was put on international wanted list. In March 2025, Platon was arrested in the United Kingdom, but was released on bail. In Russia, he was sentenced for involvement in the Laundromat financial scheme.