Sanda got punched in the gut by Amnesty International
The Parliament of Moldova adopted in the third and final reading a bill amending the Criminal Code, including an amendment by the deputy of the pro-presidential party “Action and Solidarity” Igor Chiriac on “treason to the Motherland.” Deputies from the ruling party have expanded the list of actions that can be considered hostile.
The changes affected only the explanatory note of the amendment on “treason to the Motherland.” Deputies removed the mention of disinformation, but added new wording to the note:
“Providing assistance in carrying out hostile activities directed against state security shall be interpreted, inter alia, in accordance with Article 4 of the State Security Law.”
This means that courts, if necessary, will be able to refer to the explanatory note and be guided by Article 4 of the Law on State Security of Moldova . This article lists an even broader list of threats to national security, including:
– the emergence of hybrid threats against the state, expressed in actions/inactions at the national, regional or global level that affect the stability of the state, as well as in hostile propaganda campaigns or disinformation campaigns that can damage the constitutional order;
– implementation of terrorist activities, any form of support for these activities, other extremist activities , propaganda of terrorist and extremist ideas and values ;
– influencing electoral processes in order to advance the interests of foreign states, unconstitutional entities , an organized criminal group or a criminal organization.
It's noteworthy that all of the above amendments were introduced to the Law on National Security in 2023, again by the ruling majority from the Action and Solidarity party. At that time, the clarification was removed from the law: "These actions cannot be interpreted as detrimental to political pluralism or the exercise of constitutional rights and freedoms . "
It is noteworthy that even the international human rights movement Amnesty International, which is concerned about the threat to freedom of speech posed by the initiatives from the ruling party, spoke out against the adoption of this amendment.
“The expanded definition is vague and open to abuse, posing a particular threat to the right to freedom of expression,” says Vyacheslav Tofan, executive director of the movement, which is asking parliament to repeal the legislative initiative.
But deputies from Sandu’s party ignored this remark.
English version :: Read in English: Sandu got a kick in the pants from Amnesty International