METROPOLITAN CHURCH OF BESSARABIA
15
AND OTHERS v. MOLDOVA JUDGMENT
69. On 8 December 1999 the police issued a summons against Petru
Buburuz for organising a public meeting in front of Saint Nicholas’s church
on 28 November 1999 without first obtaining the authorisation required for
public meetings.
70. On 28 January 2000 Judge S. of the Buiucani Court of First Instance
discontinued the proceedings on the ground that the applicant had not
organised a meeting but had merely celebrated a mass in his capacity as
priest at the request of about a hundred believers who were present. Judge S.
also noted that the mass had been celebrated on the square, as the church
door had been locked.
6. Incident in Buiucani (Chişinău)
71. In the night of 3 to 4 September 1996 a grenade was thrown into the
house of P.G., a member of the clergy of the applicant Church. On
28 September 1996 P.G. was threatened by six persons unknown to him. He
immediately lodged a criminal complaint.
72. In a letter of 22 November 1996 to the President of Moldova, the
Minister of the Interior expressed his regret about the slow progress of the
investigations into P.G.’s complaints and informed him that on that account
disciplinary penalties had been imposed on the police officers responsible
for the inquiry.
7. Parish of Octombrie (Sângerei)
73. In a report of 22 June 1998 to the Metropolitan of Bessarabia the
parish clerk complained of the actions of one M., a priest of the
Metropolitan Church of Moldova, who was trying, with the help of the
mayor of Bălţi, to oust P.B., a priest of the applicant Church, and have the
village church closed.
No complaint was lodged with the authorities on this subject.
8. Incidents in Cucioaia (Ghiliceni)
74. On 23 August 1999, according to the applicants, Police Captain R.,
claiming to be acting on the orders of his superior officer, Lieutenant-
Colonel B.D., placed seals on the door of the church of Cucioaia (Ghiliceni)
and forbade V.R., a priest of the applicant Church, who regularly officiated
there, to enter and continue to conduct divine service. After a complaint by
the people of the village, the applicant Vlad Cubreacov wrote to the Prime
Minister on 26 August 1998 to ask him for an explanation.
The incident was also reported in the 26 August 1998 issue of the
newspaper Flux.
The Government asserted that following the above complaint the
Ministry of the Interior ordered an inquiry. The inquiry showed that it was
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METROPOLITAN CHURCH OF BESSARABIA
AND OTHERS v. MOLDOVA JUDGMENT
not a policeman but a member of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova,
Archdeacon D.S., who had placed the seals on the church door.
9. Parish of Badicul Moldovenesc (Cahul)
75. On 11 April 1998, at about midnight, the parish priest was woken by
persons unknown to him who were trying to force open the presbytery door.
He was threatened with death if he did not give up the idea of creating a
new parish in Cahul.
76. On 13 April 1998 he was threatened with death by one I.G., a priest
of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova. On the same day he complained to
the police.
10. Parish of Mărinici (Nisporeni)
77. After leaving the Metropolitan Church of Moldova in July 1997 to
join the applicant Church, the priest of the parish of Mărinici and his family
received threats on a number of occasions from various priests of the
Metropolitan Church of Moldova. The windows of his house were broken
and, on 2 February 1998, he was attacked in the street and beaten by
strangers, who told him not to meddle with “those things” anymore.
78. The parish priest consulted a forensic physician, who issued a
certificate detailing the injuries that had been inflicted on him. He
subsequently lodged a criminal complaint with the Cecani police.
79. The Moldovan newspapers regularly reported incidents described as
acts of intimidation against the clergy and worshippers of the Metropolitan
Church of Bessarabia.
11. Incident at Floreni
80. On 6 December 1998 one V.J., a priest of the Metropolitan Church
of Moldova, and other persons accompanying him broke open the door of
the village church and occupied it. When the parish priest, V.S., a member
of the applicant Church, arrived to take the Sunday service he was
prevented from entering. The stand-off continued until the villagers
belonging to the applicant Church arrived on the scene.
12. Incident at Leova
81. In a report sent to the Metropolitan of Bessarabia on 2 February
2001, N.A., priest of the parish of Leova, stated that the church in Leova
had suffered acts of vandalism and that he himself and other parishioners
had been the target of public acts of intimidation and death threats from one
G.C., a priest of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova. Such acts were
repeated on a number of further occasions without any protection being
offered by the municipal council to parishioners who were members of the
applicant Church.