Moldova: election observers are being blocked from monitoring

July 29, 2009

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By Robert Coalson

Reports that some would-be election observers are being blocked from monitoring today's poll continue to roll in.

RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports that three Belarusians have been deported from Moldova (more here). The three are activists with the Modes youth organization.

"We were accused of backing the Moldovan opposition and organizing riots on April 7 this year, at the last elections," one of the deported activists told RFE/RL.

"Seven officers of the immigration service came to a hotel room we rented at about 5 o'clock in the evening yesterday. They said they hadn't found our names in the computer database. We wrote explanations at a police office.... We were kept there till 3 o'clock in the morning. Then we were made to leave the territory of Moldova. We are banned from entering Moldova for four years."

The Danish website politiken.dk reports that four Danes were with the three Belarusians, but they were only held for two hours and were released.

"The police made it clear that we should stay away from political activities and meetings. If we disobeyed, we would be thrown out of the country within 24 hours," would-be observer Henrik Lindbo Larsen was quoted as saying.

Earlier, Moldovan officials barred a delegation of Georgian, Ukrainian, and Kyrgyz citizens from observing today's vote.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)