The final and irrevocable decision is something invisible even after three years since Andrei Braguța died in prison.

In this sensitive and important case, several criminal and misdemeanor cases have been filed. At least 140 hearings have been organized, over one hundred of them have been postponed for various reasons, invoked either by the defendants, or by other participants in the hearing, but none due to the absence of lawyers or prosecutors. The statements in this regard were made by the lawyers of the family and of the Promo-LEX Association, who draw attention to the need to expedite the examination of this case.

In a press conference at IPN, the Promo-LEX lawyer, Vadim Vieru, stated that in the first case, four co-detainees and three policemen are targeted for ill-treatment, torture and bodily harm, caused in solitary confinement.

In this case there is the decision of the court of first instance, and now the case is in the court of appeal. The case is being examined very slowly, as are the others, in the opinion of the defenders and the family.

Vadim Vieru mentioned that in the first instance, two judges considered that the acts committed by the accused cannot be qualified as torture. Respectively, a sentence of acquittal was issued against them. There was a seperate opinion referring to the arguments presented by the state prosecutor and lawyers. The case has already been in the appeal court for a year.

According to the family's lawyer, Victor Munteanu, in the second case, 13 police officers are targeted, who supervised Andrei Braguța, apart from the day when he was ill-treated.

The case was sent to court on January 10, 2018 and so far the case is in the first instance. According to him, although court hearings are called for various reasons but are postponed due to the lack of participants in the trial.

The defender says that neither he, nor his family, nor his colleagues, understand this delaying tactic. The lawyer says that with regard to the crime of "torture", this article does not provide for limitation periods and, in these circumstances, the purpose of these postponements is not clear. Victor Munteanu also said that he hopes that in this case there will be a progress and a finality.

A third case, which was a misdemeanor and concerns people in the penitentiary, is related to the fact that Andrei Braguța was not provided with sufficient medical assistance. There was a first instance decision on this case, followed by the appeal court, which ordered a retrial. A new decision was handed down, but both, although they admit the culprits, were ordered to terminate the case on the grounds of limitation.

Victoria Gamurari, Promo-LEX lawyer, stated that another criminal case was initiated against the medical workers regarding the violation of the rules and methods of providing medical assistance, which led to the death of Andrei Braguța. In this case, two medical workers from Penitentiary no. 16 are targeted. 

The criminal case was filed in November 2017, but the criminal investigation was long-lasting. The case was sent to court in August 2018. Since then and until today, more than 15 court hearings have been set. The case is still pending the examination of the prosecution. In his view, the examination will continue, as the examination of the defense evidence, the hearing of the defendants, the pleadings of the heard parties will follow.

The Promo-LEX Association and the lawyers draw attention to the need to speed up the examination of the files. The defendants state that they do not want this to be interpreted as public pressure on a case or public justice, but question the fact that, after such a long period, there is no final decision.

The conference “Three years since the death of Andrei Braguța. Evolutions and (in) actions ”is part of the cycle of conferences provided in the IPN project“ Injustice in sight through multimedia means ”.