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A political prisoner who was jailed for 15 years on charges of
terrorism in Moldova's separatist state of Trans-Dniester was released
Saturday after serving his term.
Andrei Ivantoc, 46, was a member of the Popular Moldovan Front, a
political movement that called for the reunification of Moldova with
neighboring Romania. Separatist authorities arrested him in 1992, and
he and the three others were sentenced on charges of committing
terrorist acts against citizens of Trans-Dniester a year later. The
group's members were seen as martyrs by some in Moldova and Romania for
their opposition to the separatists.
Trans-Dniester
authorities drove Ivantoc to the border with the rest of Moldova, where
he was freed and expelled. After he was released, he tried to return to
the separatist republic but was stopped by authorities there.
He
was later forcibly bundled into a car, in which his wife and a Moldovan
official were also traveling. The car set off for the Moldovan capital.
No statements were made and there was no immediate explanation for his
action.
About 50 people came to greet Ivantoc, carrying
roses and wild flowers to this border town some 37 miles southeast of
Chisinau, the Moldovan capital.
Russian-backed
Trans-Dniester, bordered by the Ukraine, fought a war with Moldova in
1992 and does not recognize its authority. The enclave, also known as
Transnistria, is not internationally recognized.
The
European Court for Human Rights in 2005 ordered the separatists,
Moldova and Russia to free Ivantoc and one of the other three sentenced
along with him. It also ordered Moldova and Russia to pay the four a
total of more than $1 million in compensation for the deprivation of
their freedom, torture and inhumane treatment while in custody.
By CORNELIU RUSNAC
Associated Press writer
© 2007 The Associated Press
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