Andrei Ivanțoc

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Andrei Ivanțoc, born March 9, 1961 in Opaci, Moldova, is a Moldovan politician. He was one of four leaders of the Tiraspol branch of the pro-Romanian Christian-Democratic People's Party who opposed Transnistria’s authorities. He was arrested on June 2, 1992 and sentenced to 15 years in prison. The PMR Supreme Court convicted him in December 1993 of murder and other crimes; the European Court of Human Rights later said the trial was unfair. In 2001 he became a Romanian citizen while in prison. In 2004 the OSCE and the European Court of Human Rights urged PMR and Russia to end his detention. He was released on June 2, 2007 after international pressure. After his release he tried to re-enter PMR-controlled territory without permission, was captured and beaten by PMR security forces, and was expelled as persona non grata. He was proposed as a candidate for Moldova’s presidency in 2005 by the Social Liberal Party. He began a hunger strike on February 27, 2006 to protest mistreatment. He is a leader of the Democratic Forum of Romanians in Moldova.