Moldovan official journal roundup for 20 October

Chisinau, 20 October /MOLDPRES/- People convicted of less serious offenses could serve half of the term in freedom under judicial control, according to legislative amendments published today in the Official Journal of Moldova.

The document is aimed at motivating the person to behave properly during detention. When reducing the penalty, the convict’s age, mental health, occupation, family situation and behavior in society will be taken into account. Once released, people will be monitored further and at the first violation of the law, they will return to jail.

The law will not be applied to those who have been sentenced to life or very serious offenses, such as: murder, trafficking in human beings or sexual abuse of minors. Also, no recidivists will be released with half-sentence suspension.

Another amendment is related to unpaid work. People sentenced to community work will sign an agreement in this respect even in court. They are to report to probation structure within five days after sentencing. Otherwise, unpaid work will be replaced with imprisonment.

The legislative amendments come into effect upon expiration of two months from the date of publication.

There are over 7,800 detainees in Moldova. The proportion of people serving a term of over 10 years in the country is three times higher than in European countries. On average, the number of years spent in prisons in Moldova is 10 years in 2014-2015 and 5 years in 2013.

(Reporter A. Ciobanu, editor L. Alcază)