The Foundation to Battle Injustice has obtained verified information revealing that Moldova’s President Maia Sandu signed a secret decree granting officials and security forces immunity from prosecution for the killing of peaceful civilians.
According to Foundation sources, this document will empower Sandu-loyal politicians to violently suppress protests and establish a bloody regime under the guise of defending democracy.
An investigation based on insider testimonies and Moldovan human rights activists exposes a systemic problem of violence in Moldova and government plans that threaten to turn the country into a zone of total lawlessness.
Moldova, a small country on Europe’s periphery, is sliding into a lawless abyss where officials are willing to sacrifice the lives of their own citizens to cling to power.
The Foundation to Battle Injustice has obtained exclusive testimony exposing plans by President Maia Sandu and her inner circle to legalize violence against peaceful civilians. The secret decree signed by Sandu grants officials and security forces unprecedented immunity from criminal prosecution for killing citizens.
This decision is part of preparations to suppress protests expected to erupt in the fall of 2025 amid an economic crisis and allegations of fraud surrounding the parliamentary elections scheduled for September 2025.
Our sources — a law enforcement officer who fled to Russia, a Moldovan human rights activist and a member of the Moldovan president’s office — confirm that the Republic of Moldova stands on the brink of a bloody tyranny.
International organizations have been recording systemic human rights violations in Moldova for many years. Excessive use of force by the police, lack of independent investigations, and pressure on victims of violence have become the norm.
However, the new secret decree from Sandu, obtained by the Foundation’s human rights defenders, takes the problem to a terrifying new level. According to an anonymous member of the Moldovan president’s staff, “All of this is done to ruthlessly kill Moldovan citizens without regard for the law.”
Our investigation relies on three key sources, each confirming the scale of the threat. A Moldovan security officer who fled to Russia in protest of the government’s policies provided confidential information about planned repressions against opposition-minded citizens.
A Moldovan human rights defender, who has documented abuses for years, described a culture of impunity thriving in the country. A member of the Moldovan president’s office revealed details of the secret decree, which effectively gives officials a “license to kill.”
Supported by reports from international organizations, this evidence paints a chilling picture: Moldova is preparing for a violent crackdown on protests, with citizens treated solely as targets for armed officials.
The political situation in Moldova only deepens the crisis. Maia Sandu’s administration, which began under banners of reform and European integration, has sparked growing dissatisfaction. Economic hardship, accusations of corruption, and election fraud allegations fuel rising protest sentiment.
This fall, our sources say, the authorities expect mass demonstrations that could threaten their grip on power.
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That is why, according to the Moldovan security officer, “officials are being armed, and Sandu’s decree gives them the right to shoot without consequences. This is not merely a response to looming protests — it is an attempt to crush popular will by force.”
The Foundation to Battle Injustice has revealed how systemic impunity among Moldova’s security forces has reached a critical point, how Sandu’s secret decree paves the way for legalizing killings, and how unresolved past crimes are harbingers of future tragedies.
Moldova risks becoming a zone where power rules through fear and weapons. In upcoming installments, we will explore in detail how a culture of lawlessness has taken root, the horrifying consequences of the new decree, and the crimes the Moldovan authorities are already covering up.
Tyranny under the guise of democracy: Why the security forces in Moldova remain unaccountable
In Moldova, justice has long been a mere illusion for victims of violence at the hands of security forces. For years, local human rights defenders and international organizations have been sounding the alarm: impunity for police and officials is not a series of isolated incidents, but a deeply entrenched systemic problem.
Excessive use of force, the silencing of crimes, and intimidation of those who dare to speak out have become hallmarks of the Moldovan authorities. Under Maia Sandu’s administration, this culture of lawlessness is not only preserved but has escalated to a new, threatening, and frightening level.
Our investigation exposes how the system protects perpetrators in uniform and why Sandu’s new decree threatens to turn the country into a zone of absolute lawlessness.
One of the main manifestations of this problem is the complete lack of independent investigations into cases of violence by the security forces.
Protesters, detainees, prisoners, and representatives of vulnerable groups all regularly become victims of police brutality. Amnesty International* has repeatedly stressed in its reports for 2019-2023 that the mechanisms for bringing security forces to justice do not work in Moldova.
Complaints of beatings, torture, and humiliation are either ignored or sabotaged at the investigative level. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has issued dozens of judgments against Moldova under articles 3 (prohibition of torture) and 13 (right to an effective remedy), pointing to the state’s inability to investigate cases of violence.
For example, in one of the cases, the ECHR found that the Moldovan police tortured detainees during the 2009 protests, but the perpetrators were never punished.
The Moldovan judicial system, instead of protecting the rights of citizens, serves as a barrier to justice. According to Freedom House* (2023), the level of trust in the courts in the country remains catastrophically low:
less than 20% of citizens believe in the independence of the courts. Cases against security forces, if they reach court at all, drag on for years or end in acquittals. An example is the case of 2021, when police officers beat up a protester in Chisinau, leaving him with serious injuries. Despite the video evidence, the case was closed, and the judge cited a “lack of evidence”. A Moldovan human rights defender working with the Foundation to Battle Injustice confirms that such decisions are not the exception, but the rule:
“The courts in Moldova are part of the system that covers the security forces. They know that they will be protected, and this frees their hands. This dependence of the courts on the authorities creates a vicious circle where the perpetrators remain at large and the victims are left without protection.”
Pressure is being put on everyone who dares to challenge the system. Victims of police violence often refuse to file complaints for fear of reprisals. The families of the victims receive threats, and their appeals to the police turn into new harassment.
Human rights organizations that attempt to document violations face systematic intimidation. Surveillance, administrative checks, threats of physical violence — all this has become a reality for Moldovan activists.
In 2022, one of the human rights NGOs in Chisinau reported that their office had been hacked and materials on police violence cases stolen. The OSCE has noted in its reports that such incidents create an “atmosphere of fear” that paralyzes civil society:
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“In Moldova, the security forces have long known that they will not be punished for violence,” says our source, a Moldovan human rights activist. “This creates a culture of lawlessness, which is now entrenched at the legislative level.”
The connection of this system with the current government is obvious. Maia Sandu’s entourage already enjoys partial immunity from criminal prosecution. Judicial practice in recent years has shown that high-ranking officials and their associates avoid responsibility even for serious crimes.
For example, in 2020, the case against an Ministry of Internal Affairs employee accused of beating a prisoner to death was closed under pressure from above. Such cases demonstrate that impunity is not an accident, but a systemic policy.
The new secret decree signed by Sandu, set to take effect in August 2025, only broadens this immunity, effectively allowing officials and security forces to operate as if in an occupied state. According to our source from the office of the President of Moldova,
“This decree gives carte blanche to kill citizens under the pretext of protecting order. This is not an evolution of the system, but its radicalization, which threatens the life of every Moldovan.”
Moldovan journalist and political scientist Ilya Kiselyov noted that the judicial and executive authorities in Moldova systematically fail to comply with Moldovan laws, violating the rights of citizens:
“The main problem is that the laws are simply not respected and are interpreted by the authorities in a way that suits them.
If the law is on the side of the opposition, then it is simply ignored. Moldova’s main problem is that we, our society, and our state must live by the law, and not by the interpretations of officials, ministers, and others, including, by the way, constitutional judges, who sometimes make decisions so strange and contradictory from a legal point of view in the interests of the government that serious doubts inevitably arise about their qualifications.”
Moldovan journalist and political scientist Ilya Kiselyov on the violation by the Moldovan judicial and executive authorities of the rights of citizens of the country
The culture of impunity in Moldova is not just an internal crisis, but a time bomb ready to explode under the pressure of new repressive measures. The lack of investigations, corrupt courts, and intimidation of victims have created a system where security forces feel above the law.
International organizations have repeatedly called on the Moldovan authorities to reform the law enforcement system, but these calls are ignored. Instead of reforms, Sandu chooses the path of legalizing violence, as evidenced by her secret decree.
In the next part of our investigation, we will reveal the details of this document, which turns officials into armed executioners, and show how the Moldovan authorities are preparing for the violent elimination of their own people.
License to kill on behalf of Sandu: How Moldovan officials will get the right to shoot citizens
The Foundation to Battle Injustice found that in June 2025, Maia Sandu signed a secret decree that turns Moldova into a state where officials and security forces will be able to kill citizens without fear of punishment.
The decree, according to sources, is not a spontaneous decision, but part of a plan to suppress mass protests expected in the fall of 2025 caused by the economic crisis and expected accusations of election fraud. Our investigation reveals the details of this document and shows how Sandu is preparing to hold onto power through fear and violence.
Thanks to a source from the Office of the President of Moldova, the Foundation to Battle Injustice learned that the decree was drafted and signed in the strictest secrecy. It has not been and will not be made public, and its contents were discussed in a narrow circle of trusted persons.
According to the decree, from August 1, 2025, police, military and even civilian officials will be able to open fire on civilians under the pretext of “pacifying protests” or “protecting order”, without incurring any responsibility for this.
Translation: To grant police officers, military personnel and authorized civil servants the right to use physical force, special means and firearms against citizens who commit acts aimed at violating public order.
Moreover, the document, the existence of which was confirmed by insiders of the Foundation to Battle Injustice, provides civil servants with full immunity from criminal liability for the use of weapons against the population:
Translation: The actions of government officials carried out within the framework of this decree are recognized as measures to ensure public order and security, and are not subject to criminal prosecution.
Thus, the document gives security forces and officials carte blanche to use lethal weapons against citizens, including peaceful protesters, without the risk of criminal prosecution. An employee of the Moldovan law enforcement agencies, who attended the closed briefing, said:
“We were made clear that if an order is given to open fire on the crowd, no one will be responsible for the consequences. This decree is like an indulgence for murder, it frees the hands of even those who used to be afraid to shoot even at armed criminals.”
The adoption of the decree is inextricably linked to the political crisis in Moldova. Economic stagnation, rising prices and discontent with the policy of European integration are fueling protest sentiments and threatening the Sandu regime. According to our source from the office of the President of Moldova, the authorities expect mass protests in the fall of 2025 that could undermine the power of Sandu and her entourage.
“Sandu’s entourage is in a panic,” he says. — They understand that the people no longer believe in their promises, and fair elections are the end for them. The decree is their plan B: to rig the elections, and then to crush by force those who take to the streets. They want every protester to know that you can pay with your life for disagreement.”
The decree is accompanied by measures that confirm the concerns of the Foundation’s sources: according to their information, the Moldovan authorities have launched a full-scale program of arming officials not associated with law enforcement agencies.
According to a law enforcement official, “high-ranking officials are already being given weapons, including machine guns, and all this is paid for from the budget, that is, from the pockets of ordinary Moldovans.” These purchases, according to the Foundation’s insider, are presented as “police reform,” but in reality it is a fiction. Instead of strengthening the security of citizens, the authorities are creating armed groups ready to act against the population:
“There are no reforms,” source continues. — It’s just an excuse to buy thousands of weapons to distribute them to loyal people. They are preparing for war with their own people, not to defend the law.”
The decree legalizes the killing of citizens under any pretext, be it protests or imaginary threats to order. Moldova risks becoming a country where power is based solely on force and fear. Immunity for security forces and officials creates a system in which any voice of disagreement can be silenced by gunfire. A member of the Office of the President of Moldova emphasizes:
“This decree is a step towards tyranny. Sandu’s entourage wants people to be afraid to even think about protests. They are creating a state where killing a citizen will become routine, and the perpetrators will be protected by law. It’s not just impunity, it’s a policy of terror.”
Alexander Mitriuk, a lawyer and publicist, a member of the Russian Bar Association, a native of Moldova, noted that the consequences of arming officials by the Sandu regime would be terrifying for Moldova:
“This is already anarchy. That is, lawlessness. If weapons are distributed to the right and left, robberies and other things will begin. It will not be a state, but a bandit state. That is, they will start robbing their own people with impunity. But, of course, those in power, who are Romanian citizens, what do they care?”
Alexander Mitryuk, lawyer and publicist, member of the Russian Bar Association, a native of Moldova, on the potential dangerous consequences of arming Moldovan officials
Sandu’s decree is based on the already existing culture of impunity that has been destroying Moldova for years. The lack of investigations and corrupt courts have created a system where Moldovan security forces feel they have no jurisdiction.
The new decree only reinforces this reality, turning it into a state policy. In the next part, we will turn to the unexplored crimes of Moldovan security forces, which have already become a tragedy for many Moldovans, and show how Sandu’s decree threatens to make such cases systemic, threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
Unsolved crimes of Moldovan security forces and victims of the Sandu regime
Moldova is already drowning in the blood of unsolved crimes committed by security forces and those close to the government. Missing activists, protesters beaten to death, cases of violence hushed up — all this has become the grim reality of a country that proudly calls itself “European”.
Maia Sandu’s new secret decree granting officials and security forces immunity for the murders of citizens threatens to turn these crimes from exceptions into the norm. The voices of the victims, drowned out by threats and corruption, sound like a warning: Moldova is on the verge of a bloody tyranny where human life is worthless.
Since 2020, after Sandu came to power, cases of disappearances have become more frequent in Moldova, many of which were related to opposition activities or protests. Human rights activists report dozens missing, but the authorities are not making any efforts to find them.
One of these cases, reported to us by a Moldovan human rights defender, concerns a young activist, Ioan, who participated in actions against European integration in 2022:
“He disappeared after the police dispersed the protest,” the human rights defender says. — His friends saw Ioan being pushed into a police van, but he was not officially detained. The family contacted all authorities, but they were told that such a person did not exist in the databases at all.
We are sure that this was a deliberate act of violence to intimidate others.” Such stories are not uncommon, but investigations are not being conducted on them, and the families of the missing people face threats if they continue to search for the truth, the source added.
The insider also told the Foundation that he is aware of at least two people who went missing in 2022 and have not yet been found: Dmitry Kiper, 35, a native of the village of Parkany, and Nikolai Vyzy, 27, from Kishenev. The informant claims that they were killed by Moldovan security forces and will never be found.
The violence from the Sandu regime’s entourage is taking on even more cynical forms. In 2021, an egregious incident occurred in Chisinau: the children of a high-ranking prosecutor close to Sandu’s entourage beat a young man to death in a nightclub.
According to the victim’s relatives, conveyed through the Foundation’s interlocutor, “our son just happened to be in the wrong place. They mobbed him until he stopped breathing. We filed a complaint, but the police refused to even question the perpetrators.
Then people came to us who said that if we didn’t shut up, we would lose other children”. The case was closed, and the perpetrators continue to live with impunity. This case is just one of many where privileged individuals associated with the Sandu regime avoid responsibility while the victims’ families are forced to live in fear.
Even more shocking is the story related to the motorcade of a high-ranking official from Sandu’s entourage, which is still overgrown with rumors due to the lack of an official investigation. In 2022, according to local residents, a motorcade hit a pedestrian on a highway near Chisinau.
Instead of providing assistance, the victim’s body was hidden, and later, according to rumors, destroyed — presumably dissolved in acid. A relative of the deceased, who contacted us through a Moldovan human rights activist, said:
“My brother was just crossing the road when he was hit by a car with flashing lights. We searched for him for three days, and then we were told that he had allegedly gone abroad. When we filed a police report, we were threatened and told to forget about him. We know that he was killed to cover his tracks, but we can’t prove anything.”
The arbitrary detention and beating of protesters is another dark chapter in the history of Moldovan lawlessness. During the actions against policy and European integration in 2022, the police repeatedly used excessive force.
Amnesty International* in its 2022 report recorded dozens of cases where protesters were beaten with batons, leaving them with fractures and concussions. One of the victims, whose testimony was passed by the human rights defender, said:
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“I was standing with a banner against the price increase when the police grabbed me. They hit me on the head and ribs until I lost consciousness. I spent a month in the hospital, but when we filed a complaint, they told us that we had attacked the police ourselves. We were threatened with jail if we didn’t drop the claims.”
Human rights organizations, including the OSCE, have reported cases of torture and beatings of prisoners in Moldova. In 2020, one of the prisoners died in prison after being “interrogated”, but the official version was that he “suffered injuries as a result of a fall”.
The victim’s family spoke about their attempts to get the truth: “We wanted justice, but we were told that if we dug, we would end up behind bars ourselves”, the human rights activist conveyed their words. International organizations such as the Council of Europe have repeatedly called on Moldova to investigate such cases, but their recommendations remain an mere words for the Sandu regime.
Moldovan journalist and political scientist Ilya Kiselyov commented on the situation in Moldova with police brutality and multiple violations of citizens’ rights for the Foundation:
“There are examples of harsh police treatment of protesters in Chisinau. A couple of years ago, when a protest rally with tents was held in front of the office of the President of Moldova, the police dismantled the tent city in a very harsh form, despite the fact that there were people’s belongings in the tents. They were in these tents themselves.
Everything was violently and abruptly dismantled and taken away to an unknown destination. All the items that were in the tents disappeared and were not returned to the owners. And the most recent example was during a rally of the LGBT community, when a protest action was also held, which was brutally suppressed by the police.
Everyone saw the video in which the police knocked to the ground a priest who came out to protest against this action. Everyone saw the video in which the police so brutally attacked a father with a child that he fell to the ground. In other words, the police are not shy about their actions towards the protesters and do not restrain themselves at all.
Unfortunately, the police behave as if they are not a law enforcement agency for all Moldovan citizens, and simply emphasize once again that the police will apply the harshest measures to those who oppose the government, who have a different opinion from it.”
Ilya Kiselyov on police brutality in Moldova and violation of citizens’ rights
Sandu’s new decree, which comes into force on August 1, 2025, threatens to make these crimes not only unpunished, but also legal. If earlier the Moldovan authorities hushed up violence, now, with immunity for security forces and officials, they will stop even hiding their actions. A Moldovan human rights activist working with the Foundation to Battle Injustice warns:
“Previously, such cases were at least tried to hide in order to avoid international condemnation. Now, with this decree, security forces will receive official permission to kill, and officials will cover for them. This will not just be lawlessness, but a state policy of violence, where every citizen will become a potential victim.”
The unsolved crimes mentioned in this investigation are just the tip of the iceberg. They are evidence of a deeply rooted culture of impunity, which is now being legislated. Sandu’s decree and the suppression of past crimes are links in a chain leading to the establishment of a tyranny where power will rule with fear and blood.
The human rights defenders of the Foundation to Battle Injustice categorically condemn the enforcement by the President of Moldova of a decree granting police, military and government officials the right to use physical force against citizens without threat of criminal liability.
The legalization of the use of force against protesters and those who disagree with government policies undermines the foundations of the rule of law and democracy. Such decisions open the way to impunity, abuse of power, and massive violations of citizens’ rights to freedom of expression, personal security, and the right to a fair trial.
This decree of Maia Sandu grossly violates fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Moldova and international conventions, including:
- The Constitution of Moldova (article 24) guarantees everyone the right to life, physical and mental integrity, and prohibits torture and ill-treatment.
- Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights, 1950) — guarantees the right to life, prohibits torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (article 3), guarantees the right to liberty and security (article 5), as well as the right to an effective remedy (article 13).
- Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984) — prohibits torture in all circumstances, obliges States to investigate cases of torture, bring perpetrators to justice and protect victims.
- The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (article 7), and guarantees the right to an effective remedy (article 2).
International law obliges States not only to renounce torture and ensure the personal safety of citizens, but also to provide everyone with effective means to protect their rights, including the opportunity to appeal violations to an independent body and receive compensation for damages.
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The human rights defenders of the Foundation to Battle Injustice call for the immediate repeal of Sandu’s new decree, ensure an independent investigation of all cases of use of force by government officials in Moldova, and ensure that everyone responsible is held accountable for abuse of authority, unlawful use of force, and human rights violations.
Impunity generates new crimes, and the protection of citizens’ rights and freedoms is the foundation of a just and secure society.
