{"id":162682,"date":"2010-05-12T20:13:52","date_gmt":"2010-05-12T20:13:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.moldova.org\/2010\/05\/12\/back-to-ussr-moldovan-journalist-forced-to-make-confession-he-was-a-spy-208908-eng\/"},"modified":"2010-05-12T20:13:52","modified_gmt":"2010-05-12T20:13:52","slug":"back-to-ussr-moldovan-journalist-forced-to-make-confession-he-was-a-spy-208908-eng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/back-to-ussr-moldovan-journalist-forced-to-make-confession-he-was-a-spy-208908-eng\/","title":{"rendered":"“Back to USSR”: Moldovan journalist forced to make confession he was a spy"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

By Corneliu Rusnac, AP<\/em><\/p>\n

Mouldovan authorities claimed Wednesday that a journalist arrested in a separatist province on spying charges had been forced into making a confession in a case that has prompted expressions of concern from the U.S.<\/p>\n

Ernest Vardanean was arrested in the Russian-speaking region of Trans-Dniester in eastern Moldova in April on suspicion of "spying and high treason." He used to work for the Russian news agency Novyi Region, which is known for being critical about the separatist authorities. If convicted as charged, Vardanean faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years.<\/p>\n

Footage (below) of him broadcast on state-TV on Tuesday night showed him saying he had been forced to join Moldova’s secret services in 2001, while studying in Moldova’s capital, Chisinau. Moldovan officials said he had been coerced to make the statement.<\/p>\n

Moldova’s deputy Prime Minister Victor Osipov said: "I believe one can make any statement while under pressure, knowing that one’s child and wife are threatened."<\/p>\n

Respected political analyst Vlad Lupan pointed out discrepancies in Vardanean’s video recording, saying the sound and images were not in synch. "He was probably asked to read a text and the secret services extracted what they wanted," he said.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Embassy in Moldova has expressed concern about Vardanean’s arrest and said his legal and human rights must be respected.<\/p>\n

U.S. Ambassador to Moldova Asif J. Chaudhry discussed the arrest with longtime separatist leader Igor Smirnov on April 14 in Tiraspol, the separatist region’s capital. Smirnov told him the case was secret. The embassy said in a statement that it was "disturbed" by reports that neither Vardanean or his lawyer had been able to attend the pretrial detention hearing.<\/p>\n

Trans-Dniester broke away from Moldova in 1990, fearing it wanted to reunite with neighbouring Romania. A war between Moldovan forces and separatists in 1992 killed 1,500 people. The region is not internationally recognized but is supported by Russia, which has around 500 troops stationed there to guard weapons storage facilities left by the Soviet military. Separatist authorities are scheduled to hold elections later this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>Mouldovan authorities claimed Wednesday that a journalist arrested in a separatist province on spying charges had been forced into making a confession in a case that has prompted expressions of concern from the U.S.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-162682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"content_social_share":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

By Corneliu Rusnac, AP<\/em><\/p>\n

Mouldovan authorities claimed Wednesday that a journalist arrested in a separatist province on spying charges had been forced into making a confession in a case that has prompted expressions of concern from the U.S.<\/p>\n

Ernest Vardanean was arrested in the Russian-speaking region of Trans-Dniester in eastern Moldova in April on suspicion of "spying and high treason." He used to work for the Russian news agency Novyi Region, which is known for being critical about the separatist authorities. If convicted as charged, Vardanean faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years.<\/p>\n

Footage (below) of him broadcast on state-TV on Tuesday night showed him saying he had been forced to join Moldova’s secret services in 2001, while studying in Moldova’s capital, Chisinau. Moldovan officials said he had been coerced to make the statement.<\/p>\n

Moldova’s deputy Prime Minister Victor Osipov said: "I believe one can make any statement while under pressure, knowing that one’s child and wife are threatened."<\/p>\n

Respected political analyst Vlad Lupan pointed out discrepancies in Vardanean’s video recording, saying the sound and images were not in synch. "He was probably asked to read a text and the secret services extracted what they wanted," he said.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Embassy in Moldova has expressed concern about Vardanean’s arrest and said his legal and human rights must be respected.<\/p>\n

U.S. Ambassador to Moldova Asif J. Chaudhry discussed the arrest with longtime separatist leader Igor Smirnov on April 14 in Tiraspol, the separatist region’s capital. Smirnov told him the case was secret. The embassy said in a statement that it was "disturbed" by reports that neither Vardanean or his lawyer had been able to attend the pretrial detention hearing.<\/p>\n

Trans-Dniester broke away from Moldova in 1990, fearing it wanted to reunite with neighbouring Romania. A war between Moldovan forces and separatists in 1992 killed 1,500 people. The region is not internationally recognized but is supported by Russia, which has around 500 troops stationed there to guard weapons storage facilities left by the Soviet military. Separatist authorities are scheduled to hold elections later this year.<\/p>\n

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