The head of the new Prosecutor’s office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases states that he will create a team of prosecutors specialized in cases of trafficking in persons, and investigation of these cases will be a priority. The statements were made during the first meeting of the newly appointed Nicolae Chitoroagă with the representatives of the International Center “La Strada”.
According to the opinion of the antitrafficking community representatives, practice shows that the lack of prosecutors specialized in investigating human trafficking cases, could further generate superficial investigation of such cases.
“The complexity of the crime, its latent nature, but also international standards require the presence of some specialized units. When criminals adapt and start using new techniques, the prosecutors who know the specifics of the crime will be the only ones, who could chase them. Also, we count on a multidisciplinary approach towards cases of trafficking”, said Ana Revenco, President of the International Center “La Strada”.
The meeting took place following the fact that the new Law on Prosecution, which entered into force on August 1, 2016, does not provide for existence of a unit specialized in combating trafficking, within the General Prosecutor’s Office. The decision of authorities to eliminate the antitrafficking unit from the General Prosecutor’s Office put the subject on the agenda of the Moldovan civil society, which states that will keep monitoring closely the prosecution’s activity related to trafficking cases.