Dumitru CRUDU, Emilian GALAICU-PĂUN & Maria IVANOV
On 16 September 2024, Moldavan writers and PEN Romania members Dumitru Crudu, Emilian Galaicu-Păun and Maria Ivanov, as well as journalist Elvira Moroșan, were detained at the border of Bender/Tighina by agents with the Ministry of State Security (MGB) – the security service of the Russia-backed separatist government in Transnistria. The writers and journalist were heading to a literary meeting with high school students in Bender/Tighina (Bender/Tighina is a city within the internationally recognised borders of Moldova under de facto control of the separatist region of Transnistria, which broke away from Moldova in 1990).
According to Dumitru Crudu, who wrote a detailed account of their detention, MGB agents confiscated their identity documents before searching their car. The agents notably confiscated copies of TIMPUL, a cultural magazine meant to be shared with the students, which included articles condemning the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine. They subsequently interrogated Crudu, Ivanov, Galaicu-Păun and Moroșan for over an hour, enquiring about the purpose of their visit and refusing to provide them with any explanations as to why they were being detained. Fearing for their arrest, Crudu managed to call representatives of Moldova’s Ministry for Reintegration, who brokered their release. Crudu, Ivanov, Galaicu-Păun and Moroșan were subsequently sent back to Chișinău, Moldova’s capital, before being told they would no longer be allowed into Transnistria. According to media reports, the Moldovan authorities were working to ensure the original visit could take place at a later date. In November, Crudu and Ivanov filed a complaint against the agents who prevented them from entering Transnistria. The case was ongoing as of 31 December 2024.
Free expression organisations have documented how journalists are being obstructed or detained while reporting in Transnistria – including through systematic surveillance, harassment, and confiscation of equipment – with impunity. PEN International and PEN Romania urged the local authorities to ensure that writers and journalists – including Crudu, Ivanov, Galaicu-Păun and Moroșan – can work and travel in Transnistria freely and safely, without intimidation.
Dumitru Crudu (born on 8 November 1967) is an award-winning novelist, poet, and playwright. Emilian Galaicu-Păun (born on 22 June 1964) is an award-winning poet, novelist, essayist, literary critic, translator and publisher. Maria Ivanov (born on 21 September 1993) is a writer, poet, journalist and editor-in-chief of TIMPUL.