TIGHINA, Moldova - A political prisoner who was jailed for 15 years on charges of terrorism in Moldova's separatist state of Trans-Dniester was released Saturday after serving his term.
Andrei Ivantoc, 46, was a member of the Popular Moldovan Front, a political movement that called for the reunification of Moldova with neighboring Romania. Separatist authorities arrested him in 1992, and he and the three others were sentenced on charges of committing terrorist acts against citizens of Trans-Dniester a year later. The group's members were seen as martyrs by some in Moldova and Romania for their opposition to the separatists.
Trans-Dniester authorities drove Ivantoc to the border with the rest of Moldova, where he was freed and expelled. After he was released, he tried to return to the separatist republic but was stopped by authorities there.
He was later forcibly bundled into a car, in which his wife and a Moldovan official were also traveling. The car set off for the Moldovan capital. No statements were made and there was no immediate explanation for his action.
About 50 people came to greet Ivantoc, carrying roses and wild flowers to this border town some 37 miles southeast of Chisinau, the Moldovan capital.
Russian-backed Trans-Dniester, bordered by the Ukraine, fought a war with Moldova in 1992 and does not recognize its authority. The enclave, also known as Transnistria, is not internationally recognized.
The European Court for Human Rights in 2005 ordered the separatists, Moldova and Russia to free Ivantoc and one of the other three sentenced along with him. It also ordered Moldova and Russia to pay the four a total of more than $1 million in compensation for the deprivation of their freedom, torture and inhumane treatment while in custody.
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