You should be able to communicate from prison with courts, state institutions and international institutions to learn about your rights, complain about any violations of these or about other matters. This correspondence must not be monitored or censored and, in exceptional circumstances, if you cannot afford it yourself, must be despatched free of charge.
Communication free of charge
In exceptional circumstances, if you cannot afford it yourself, the prison administration must send letters which have been addressed to such as the following institutions free of charge:
- United Nations Organization bodies
- the Parliament (in particular the Committee with mandate on human rights)
- the Ombudsman’s Office
- the Prosecutor's Office
- the courts
- embassies or consulates, if you are a foreign national
According to human rights standards, your letter to other state institutions must be sent free of charge if you yourself lack the resources and with this correspondence you aim to:
- appeal a decision or action of the institution, affecting your fundamental rights
- request for state paid legal aid or in other way exercise your right of access to justice
Restrictions and monitoring
According to Moldovan law, the prisoner’s correspondence with the lawyer, with the Ombudsman or, as the case may be, the Ombudsman for the rights of the child, with the members of the monitoring commission, the criminal investigation bodies, the prosecutor's office, the court, the authorities of the central public administration, the international intergovernmental organizations that ensure the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms cannot be subject to censorship or control.
example Although not expressly listed under the law, your correspondence with the European Court of Human Rights should not be delayed or monitored.
However, as a matter of principle, in exceptional circumstances human rights permit the monitoring of your correspondence with other State or international organizations for security reasons, and only if seriously justified. The State must choose the least restrictive method of monitoring, depending on the type of security concerns.
example If there are good grounds to believe that a letter from a state institution contains illegal objects, the letter may be opened and checked for such objects, but should not be read.
If privileged correspondence is to be monitored, there should be procedures established for ensuring that this correspondence is not monitored or censored beyond the degree necessary.
example Such letters should be opened in your presence or the presence of an independent party, like as investigative judge or the prosecutor. The opening of the letter should also be recorded.
What human rights violation may there be?
Privacy and freedom of correspondence
If your correspondence with state institutions or international organizations has been unlawfully monitored or restricted, this will result in a violation of your right to privacy and freedom of correspondence.
Right to a fair trial and an effective remedy
In certain circumstances, if your letter has been censored or delayed and you have consequently been unable to complain to the court or other institution about a violation of your rights, your right to a fair trial or to an effective remedy may have been violated.
How to complain
If you believe that your correspondence has been unlawfully monitored or restricted, you should complain about it to the investigative judge, to the Ombudsman or to the National Prison Administration. Read more about how to complain.