The Prosecutor's Office of Dubasari District Opened a Criminal Case against the Policemen Who Had Detained Illegally Two Journalists from Moldova

The Prosecutor's Office of Dubasari District opened a criminal case on the arrest of journalists Oxana Bodnar and Igor Crocos from Publika TV by Transnistrian police on September 1. The policemen are charged for kidnapping and usurpation of their powers.
Oxana Bodnar, reporter, and Igor Crocos, cameraman, both employed by Publika TV, were detained while shooting a story about the start of the school year in the village of Corjova in Dubasari District. According to the journalists, the Transnistrian police took them to the police office in Dubasari, where they spent five hours. 

Besides, the shooting material was destroyed and the journalists were warned that their camera would be taken away and they would be arrested in case of another attempt.
Transnistrian police treats Corjova as a community under the jurisdiction of the self-proclaimed Transnistrian authorities, claiming that special accreditation for shooting needs to be issued by the Transnistrian Intelligence Service.
There should have not been any incident, as the journalists from Chisinau had the authorization of the Joint Control Commission, which is still valid, according to Eduard Bumbac, a member of the JCC. ‘The accreditation expires on 31 December 2015. For years now, the Transnistrian side has pressured journalists, no matter what event they covered,’ stressed Eduard Bumbac.

It should be noted that this is not a one-off incident; the Transnistrian police has detained other journalists before. The most recent incident of this kind occurred in August, when journalist Alexandru Crivitchi - employed by the local TV station TV Cocieri (located in the Security Zone) - was detained by Transnistrian KGB. He was suspected of fomenting extremism; however, they released him in a few hours.