GENERAL PART

Chapter VII
CRIMINAL PUNISHMENT

Article 70. Imprisonment

(1) Imprisonment is the deprivation of the liberty of a person guilty of the commission of a crime by the forced isolation of the person from his/her normal living environment and confinement in a penitentiary for a certain term based on a court decision.

(2) Imprisonment shall be set for a term of from 3 months to 20 years.

(3) When setting the punishment for a person who at the date of the commission of the crime was aged under 18, the term of imprisonment shall be determined from the maximum punishment established by criminal law for the crime committed reduced by half.

(4) When setting the final punishment in a case of a cumulation of crimes, imprisonment may not exceed 25 years for adults and 12 years and 6 months for juveniles, and in a case of a cumulation of sentences, it cannot exceed 30 years for adults and 15 years for juveniles.

(5) In a case of substitution of life imprisonment with a milder punishment as mercy, imprisonment for 30 years shall be applied.

SPECIAL PART

Chapter I
CRIMES AGAINST THE PEACE AND SECURITY OF HUMANITY, WAR CRIMES

Article 135. Genocide

Commission aimed at the destruction, in whole or in part, of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group of any of the following acts :
a) killing members of this group ;
b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group ;
c) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group ;
d) trafficking in children of the respective group ;
e) deliberate exposure of the group to living conditions leading to its physical destruction in whole or in part
shall be punished by imprisonment for 16 to 20 years or by life imprisonment.

SPECIAL PART

Chapter I
CRIMES AGAINST THE PEACE AND SECURITY OF HUMANITY, WAR CRIMES

Article 137. Inhumane Treatment

(1) Subjecting persons by any methods to torture or inhumane treatment to deliberately cause severe pain or serious bodily injury or to damage the health of wounded or sick persons, prisoners, civilians, members of civil medical staff or members of the Red Cross and similar organizations, shipwrecked persons, as well as any other person fallen to an enemy or their subjection to medical, biological, or scientific experiments not justified by medical treatment to their benefit shall be punished by imprisonment for 8 to 15 years.

SPECIAL PART

Chapter I
CRIMES AGAINST THE PEACE AND SECURITY OF HUMANITY, WAR CRIMES

Article 137. Inhumane Treatment

(2) The commission of one of the following acts against the persons specified in par. (1) :

a) forced entry into military service in the armed forces of the enemy ;
b) taking hostages ;
c) deportation ;
d) unlawful displacement or confinement ;
e) conviction by an illegal court without a preliminary hearing and without observing the fundamental legal guarantees provided by law,
shall be punished by imprisonment for 12 to 20 years.

SPECIAL PART

Chapter I
CRIMES AGAINST THE PEACE AND SECURITY OF HUMANITY, WAR CRIMES

Article 137. Inhumane Treatment

(3) The torture, mutilation, extermination, or execution without legal trial of the persons specified in par. (1) shall be punished by imprisonment for 16 to 20 years or by life imprisonment.

SPECIAL PART

Chapter I
CRIMES AGAINST THE PEACE AND SECURITY OF HUMANITY, WAR CRIMES

Article 138. Violation of International Humanitarian Laws

(1) The execution of an illegal order that leads to the commission of crimes provided in art. 137 shall be punished by imprisonment for 5 to 10 years.

(2) The issuance by a superior to his/her subordinate during an armed conflict or military action of an obviously illegal order aimed at the commission of crimes provided in art. 137 provided that signs of a more serious crime are absent shall be punished by imprisonment for 8 to 15 years.

(3) The failure to execute or the inadequate execution by a superior of the obligations to prevent the commission by subordinates of crimes provided in art. 137 shall be punished by imprisonment for 6 to 12 years.

SPECIAL PART

Chapter I
CRIMES AGAINST THE PEACE AND SECURITY OF HUMANITY, WAR CRIMES

Article 139. Planning, Preparation, Unleashing or Waging War

(1) Planning, preparing or unleashing a war shall be punished by imprisonment for 8 to 15 years.

(2) Waging a war shall be punished by imprisonment for 10 to 20 years or by life imprisonment.

SPECIAL PART

Chapter I
CRIMES AGAINST THE PEACE AND SECURITY OF HUMANITY, WAR CRIMES

Article 142. Attack on a Person Availing of International Protection

(1) The commission of a violent attack on the office, house, or means of transport of a person availing him or herself of international protection, provided that such an act may pose a threat to the life, health or freedom of the given person shall be punished by imprisonment for 5 to 10 years.

(2) Kidnapping or otherwise attacking a person availing him or herself of international protection or depriving them of their freedom shall be punished by imprisonment for 7 to 15 years.

(3) The murder of a person availing him or herself of international protection shall be punished by imprisonment for 16 to 20 years or by life imprisonment.

(4) Actions specified in par. (1) or (2) committed for the purpose of unleashing war or an international conflict shall be punished by imprisonment for 8 to 15 years or by life imprisonment.

(5) The threat of committing an action provided in par. (1), (2), (3) or (4), if the danger that such a threat could be accomplished existed, shall be punished by imprisonment for 3 to 7 years.

SPECIAL PART

Chapter I
CRIMES AGAINST THE PEACE AND SECURITY OF HUMANITY, WAR CRIMES

Article 143. Application of Prohibited Means and Methods of Waging War

(1) The application during an armed conflict or military action of means and methods of waging war prohibited by the international treaties to which the Republic of Moldova is a party shall be punished by imprisonment for 12 to 20 years.

(2) The use of weapons of mass-destruction prohibited by the international treaties to which the Republic of Moldova is a party shall be punished by imprisonment for 16 to 20 years or by life imprisonment.

SPECIAL PART

Chapter XIV
CRIMES AGAINST JUSTICE

Article 303. Interference with the Dispense of Justice and with Criminal Investigations

(1) Interference in any form with the examination of cases by courts in order to hinder the
comprehensive, complete, and objective examination of a specific case or in order to obtain an illegal court decision shall be punished by a fine in the amount of 200 to 500 conventional units or by community service for 180 to 240 hours or by imprisonment for up to 2 years.

(2) Interference in any form with the activities of criminal investigative bodies in order to hinder the speedy, complete, and objective investigation of a criminal case shall be punished by a fine of up to 350 conventional units or by community service for 180 to 240 hours.

(3) The actions set forth in par. (1) or (2) committed with the use of an official position shall be punished by a fine in the amount of 400 to 600 conventional units or by imprisonment for up to 4 years, in both cases with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to practice certain activities for up to 3 years.

SPECIAL PART

Chapter XIV
CRIMES AGAINST JUSTICE

Article 308. Illegal Detention or Arrest

(1) The deliberate illegal detention of a person by the person conducting a criminal investigation shall be punished by imprisonment for up to 2 years with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to practice certain activities for up to 5 years.

(2) The deliberate illegal arrest of person by a judge shall be punished by imprisonment for up to 3 years with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to practice certain activities for up to 5 years.

[Par.3 art.308 excluded by Law No. 277-XVI dated 18.12.2008, in force as of 24.05.2009]

(4) The actions set forth in par. (1) or (2) that cause severe consequences shall be punished by imprisonment for 3 to 7 years with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to practice certain activities for up to 5 years.

SPECIAL PART

Chapter XIV
CRIMES AGAINST JUSTICE

Article 309. Coercion to Testify

(1) Coercing a person by threats or other illegal acts to testify during an interrogation, coercing in the same way an expert to offer a conclusion, or coercing a translator or an interpreter to provide an incorrect translation or interpretation committed by the person conducting a criminal investigation shall be punished by imprisonment for up to 3 years with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to practice a certain activity for up to 5 years.

(2) The same action involving :

a) violence ;
b) cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment ;
c) a plea bargaining agreement,
shall be punished by imprisonment for 3 to 8 years with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to practice certain activities for up to 5 years.

SPECIAL PART

Chapter XIV
CRIMES AGAINST JUSTICE

Article 309(1). Torture

(1) Deliberately inflicting severe physical or mental pain or suffering on a person specifically in order to obtain from that person or from a third person information or confessions, to punish the person for an act which he/she or a third person committed or is suspected of having committed, or for any other reason based on whatever form of discrimination provided that such pain or suffering is caused by an official or any other person acting in an official basis, or upon incitement or express or tacit consent of such persons, except for pain or suffering resulting exclusively from legal sanctions that are inherent to these sanctions or caused by such sanctions shall be punished by imprisonment for 2 to 5 years with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to practice certain activities for up to 5 years.

(2) The organization of or the incitement to torture shall be punished by imprisonment for 3 to
8 years with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to practice a certain activity for up to 5 years.

(3) The actions set forth in par. (1) or (2) committed :

a) against a person known to be a juvenile or a pregnant woman or taking advantage of the victim's known or obvious helpless condition caused by advanced age, disease, physical or mental handicap or another factor ;
[Letter b) excluded by Law No. 277-XVI dated 18.12.2008, in force as of 24.05.2009]
c) by two or more persons ;
[Letter d) excluded by Law No. 277-XVI dated 18.12.2008, in force as of 24.05.2009]
e) with the use of special torture tools or other objects adjusted for this purpose ;
f) by a high-ranking official ;
shall be punished by imprisonment for 5 to 10 years with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to practice certain activities for 2 to 5 years.

SPECIAL PART

Chapter XIV
CRIMES AGAINST JUSTICE

Article 310. Falsification of Evidence

(1) The falsification of evidence in a civil case by a participant in a hearing or by his/her representative shall be punished by a fine in the amount of 500 to 800 conventional units or
by community service for 180 to 240 hours, in both cases with (or without) the deprivation of
the right to hold certain positions or to practice certain activities for 2 to 5 years.

(2) The falsification of evidence in a criminal case by the person conducting a criminal investigation, a prosecutor or the attorney acting in the criminal case shall be punished by a fine in the amount of 500 to 1000 conventional units or by imprisonment for up to 3 years, in both cases with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to practice certain activities for 2 to 5 years.

SPECIAL PART

Chapter XIV
CRIMES AGAINST JUSTICE

Article 312. False Statements, Expert Conclusions, or Incorrect Translations

(1) A deliberate false statement by a witness or the injured party or a false expert conclusion by a specialist or expert or an incorrect translation or interpretation by a translator or the interpreter provided that such an action was committed in the course of a criminal investigation or case hearing shall be punished by a fine of up to 300 conventional units or by community service for 180 to 240 hours or by imprisonment for up to 2 years, in all cases with (or without) the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to practice certain activities for up to 2 years.

(2) The same actions :

a) involving serious, especially serious or exceptionally serious crimes ;
b) committed for purposes of profit ;
c) involving the artificial fabrication of incriminating evidence, ;
shall be punished by a fine in the amount of 200 to 800 conventional units or by imprisonment for up to 5 years, in both cases with (or without) the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to practice certain activities for up to 3 years.

SPECIAL PART

Chapter XIV
CRIMES AGAINST JUSTICE

Article 314. Coercion to Make False Statements, False Expert Conclusions, or Incorrect Translations or to Evade Such Obligations

(1) Coercing a witness or an injured party to make false statements, coercing an expert to provide false expert conclusions or statements, coercing an interpreter or translator to provide an incorrect interpretation or translation or to evade such obligations shall be punished by a fine in the amount of 200 to 500 conventional units or by imprisonment for up to 3 years.

(2) The same action :

a) committed by an organized criminal group or a criminal organization
[Letter b) excluded by Law No. 277-XVI dated 18.12.2008, in force as of 24.05.2009]
shall be punished by a fine in the amount of 300 to 800 conventional units or by imprisonment for up to 5 years.

SPECIAL PART

Chapter XIV
CRIMES AGAINST JUSTICE

Article 317. Escape from Detention

(1) Escape from places of detention by a person serving the sentence of imprisonment as well as by a person under preventive arrest shall be punished by imprisonment for up to 3 years.

(2) The same action committed :

[Letter a) excluded by Law No. 277-XVI dated 18.12.2008, in force as of 24.05.2009]
b) by two or more persons ;
c) with violence ;
d) with the use of weapons or other objects used as weapons; shall be punished by imprisonment for up to 6 years.

(3) Escape from a place of detention by a person whose legal grounds for detention did not exist or had expired at the moment of escape shall not constitute a crime within the context of this article.