A deeply concerning case of alleged police misconduct has come to light in Chișinău, Moldova, revealing what appears to be another alarming incident of state-level intimidation against a lesbian woman.

On 19 March 2026, in the Botanica district of Chișinău, Margarita, a young lesbian woman, was reportedly stopped by two police officers driving a vehicle with registration number MAI 1004. According to her testimony, the officers appeared to recognize her as a member of the local LGBT community, as they are often seen in the same area.

During the incident, they forcibly took her mobile phone from her hand and searched through her personal photographs without her consent. After finding private images, they told her that “it is illegal to be homosexual” and demanded 3000 MDL in order for her to avoid problems. Margarita refused to give them money, stating that it was a bribe. Immediately after her refusal, the two officers quickly got back into the vehicle and left the scene.

The victim immediately informed the GENDERDOC-M Information Centre and was advised to call 112 to officially report the incident. The case indicates an alleged act of discrimination based on sexual orientation, accompanied by abuse of authority, violation of privacy, intimidation, and attempted extortion by state agents.

“Don’t ruin their future”: Police discouragement and secondary intimidation

When the second police crew arrived, the victim and the persons accompanying her spoke with them, and the conversation was recorded on video. According to the victim’s account, each time they mentioned their intention to file an official complaint, the members of the second crew began excusing their colleagues and argued that the victim should not “ruin the future” of “young men”.

They stated that it would be better for them to punish the two officers themselves rather than allow the case to go to court, suggesting that it was unclear who would ultimately suffer more if formal proceedings were initiated. This reaction may be interpreted as an attempt to discourage the victim from filing an official complaint and from accessing an effective remedy.

Institutional backlash and targeting of human rights defenders

Later the same day, after Angelica Frolov, Director of the GENDERDOC-M Information Centre and a human rights defender, published a Facebook post about the case of a young lesbian woman from the Botanica district, the General Police Inspectorate issued an official public response naming her directly and denying the discriminatory nature of the incident.

In its statement, the police claimed that the intervention had been prompted by allegedly suspicious behaviour, that the victim’s phone had only been briefly checked, and that the incident was unrelated to her sexual orientation. At the same time, the institution called for information to be presented “correctly and responsibly” and suggested that posts about the case were aimed at gaining visibility or promoting a personal image.

In this context, the IGP’s public response may be classified as a form of intimidation and discrediting of a human rights defender, with the potential to discourage the reporting of abuses against LGBT persons. Later, the Head of the General Police Inspectorate, Viorel Cernăuțeanu, responded to journalists’ questions as follows:

“Ms. Frolov has my phone number; whenever she called and was able to communicate, that is exactly how she should have acted in this case as well: we should have found a way to communicate. Whoever is guilty should be held accountable, but we should not make public accusations without evidence or interfere with the lives of other people and their families. We are not justifying the actions of the police officers; these actions will be documented, but we must be fair to everyone: to the community, to the officers, and to society”.