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Death of Valeriu Boboc

Valeriu Victor Boboc (May 5, 1985 - April 8, 2009) was a protester who died in police custody amid the post-election protests in Chişinău, Moldova. The initial official cause was smoke poisoning from the riot, but his family insisted that he was beaten to death by the police, his body being full of contusions. "The General Prosecutor’s Office has reported that his death was due to poisoning with unknown substances, while his family allege that he died as a result of injuries inflicted by the police" wrote Amnesty International in April 2009. According to 2009 Human Rights Report of the United States Department of State, a British forensics expert examined Boboc's body after it was exhumed on June 15, 2009 and concluded that Boboc was killed by severe blows to his head. Only after a new ruling coalition came to power, an investigation was opened into the case and a policeman was arrested on charges of Boboc's murder. "Foreign and national experts determined the death was as a result of injuries caused to Valeriu Boboc and not caused by an unknown, poisoning gas, as was said immediately after the tragedy," said the new Prosecutor General Valeriu Zubco in January 2010.Valeriu Boboc was posthumously decorated, by a presidential decree, with Moldova's highest state decoration – the Order of the Republic. "April 7 events opened the way of Moldova to Europe and Boboc is no longer just a name, but a symbol of struggle for democratic values and freedom of expression." Established in 2010, "Valeriu Boboc" Prize is awarded annually by the Senate of Romania for "defending the fundamental human rights and democratic values".