Public statement regarding a case of abuse, intimidation and discriminatory treatment by the police towards a young transgender person

Public statement regarding a case of abuse, intimidation and discriminatory treatment by the police towards a young transgender person

The GENDERDOC-M Information Center expresses its deep concern about the incident reported on April 14, 2026 by A.M., a young transgender man, who was subjected to abusive, humiliating and discriminatory treatment by plainclothes police officers in the Telecentru sector of Chisinau.

According to the victim’s account, A.M. and a friend of his were stopped twice by the same police officers, who alleged an alleged anti-drug operation and that the two seemed “suspicious” just because they were near the forest. During the first interaction, A.M. started filming, and one of the police officers allegedly tried to take his phone.

At the second stop, after A.M. was forced to provide his name from his documents, in order to be identified in the database, one of the police officers began to address him in a mocking manner, intentionally using the name and feminine form of address from his documents, although A.M. is a transgender man. According to the victim, the police officers’ behavior also included explicit threats and degrading expressions, including: “Amus, I’ll give you a little bit of a dick in your ass”, “I’ll rip your earring out of your nose” and “I’ll find you anyway”.

We believe that such behavior represents not only a serious violation of a person’s dignity, but also a form of discriminatory treatment based on gender identity. The deliberate use of a name or forms of address that contradict a person’s gender identity, especially by state representatives, can constitute a form of humiliation, intimidation and psychological abuse.

The report also includes extremely serious elements regarding the use of force. According to the victim, after a tense verbal exchange, one of the police officers threatened him, and the other snatched the phone from his hand, pushed him off the sidewalk onto a slope with bushes, and initially refused to return the phone. Only after his friend said he would call 112 was the phone thrown away, and the two police officers left the scene in a personal car.

Such actions raise serious suspicions of physical abuse, intimidation, exceeding the duties of the office, and discriminatory treatment. It is unacceptable for persons responsible for protecting citizens to contribute to their vulnerability, humiliation, or intimidation.

We call on the competent authorities to conduct a prompt, impartial, and effective investigation into this case, including identifying the police officers involved, assessing the legality of their actions, and sanctioning those responsible.

At the same time, we reiterate the need for continuous training of law enforcement officials in the field of human rights, equality and non-discriminatory interaction with transgender people and other vulnerable groups. Lack of institutional awareness breeds abuse, and abuse destroys trust in the state.

Every person has the right to safety, respect and equal protection before the law, regardless of their gender identity.

Not even a month has passed since the case of a lesbian girl being abused, and now we are talking about a new serious case, targeting a transgender young man. This sequence of incidents is alarming and shows once again how vulnerable LGBTQ+ people remain to abuse, including when it comes from the very people who are supposed to protect them.