The family of Alexandru Coliban, who was sentenced by the unconstitutional Transnistrian authorities to two years and a half in jail, protested in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration on January 21. The protest was held while the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara gave a news conference inside the Ministry’s building, Info-Prim Neo reports. The young man’s mother Svetlana Coliban said that the family and mates of the young man came to the Ministry to sensitize the officials to the human rights violations in the Transnistrian region. Alexandru’s relatives hope that this issue will be discussed at high level. The young man’s brother Andrei Coliban said the Transnistrian authorities will take a decision in Alexandru’s favor only if the international organizations exert pressure and if this issue is addressed by the officials. He also said that such protests will be staged until his brother is set free. One of the young man’s mates Vadim, of the Teacher Training University “Ion Creanga”, said that Alexandru is not guilty and should be released as soon as possible. Alexandru Coliban was arrested in October 2011 for distributing electoral materials against the ‘presidential’ candidate Yevgeny Shevchuk. In September 2012, the Transnistrian authorities found him guilty of ‘calumny’ and ‘hampering of the exercise of the electoral right or of the work of the election bodies by distributing materials’. In the news conference, Leonid Kozhara said that this matter should be discussed more at bilateral level, between Chisinau and Tiraspol, and then, if need be, other sides can be involved.