New York, December 17, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the 15-year prison sentence given to independent journalist Ernest Vardanian, who has been held on falsified espionage charges in the unrecognized separatist Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR) since April. The PMR is commonly known as Transdniester, and broke away from Moldova proper in 1990.
In a closed hearing on Thursday, the Supreme Court of PMR convicted Vardanian of high treason and ordered him transferred to a strict-regime penal colony, regional and international press reported. It was unclear whether Vardanian's PMR-appointed lawyer would appeal the verdict.
