A Moldovan man has been charged with making an anti-LGBT death threat on Facebook.
The complaint was filed by Marin Pavlescu, who has previously spoken out against the harassment he was subjected to during his military service in relation to his sexual orientation.
“A stranger called me on Facebook Messenger and threatened to stab and kill me because I allegedly denigrated religion,” Pavlescu told interviewers at the prosecutor’s office in Chisinau. The suspect was also interviewed.
According to Pavlescu, he was threatened “because I’m gay and the aggressor saw me in a picture from Pride 2022 with the rainbow flag over my shoulders.”
“In the prosecutor’s office, the aggressor said he was sorry because he never thought he could be held accountable. That is, he thought that I, a gay person, would not file a complaint with the police or that the police would not do their job,” he continued.
Pavlescu added that the suspect was surprised when he was detained at the border upon re-entry to the country, and continued to insult the individual. Pavlescu said this influenced his decision not to withdraw his complaint.
Doina-Ioana Straisteanu, the lawyer representing Pavlescu in the case, said the suspect did not apologise for his actions while being questioned by prosecutors. The suspect purportedly only expressed regret that he was arrested.
“The man says he didn’t expect it and ‘regrets’ that he wasn’t taught about the consequences. We insist he should be given the maximum punishment,” Straisteanu said.
Angelica Frolov from the GenderDoc Center, an organisation which deals with advocacy for the LGBT community, said the case was significant to a number of people in the community.
“We are often threatened, insulted and insulted. Some people think they have the right to do it because they have society’s support,” said Frolov.
“In our society, it is the norm to hate LGBT people. From now on, every person can be sure that the law protects everyone, and if your values and principles in life allow you to attack another person, the law does not allow you to,” she continued.
Pavlescu sued the Moldovan Defence Ministry and the 2nd Motorised Infantry Brigade ‘Stefan Cel Mare’ earlier this year, attesting that he was harassed throughout his military service after Pavlescu spoke of his sexual orientation.
An internal investigation was purportedly launched by the Defence Ministry.
A report last year found there had been an increase in cyber attacks using sexism and ethnic hatred, including anti-LGBT death threat, to target vulnerable communities in the Balkans.
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