A fifth and last of a group of political detainees in the Moldovan separatist region of Transdniestr was freed after 15 years in jail on Monday.

Tudor Petrov-Popa of the so-called “Ilascu Group” - a group of prisoners retained in the early nineties under charges of terrorism at the peak of the Moldovan-Transdniestr war - was released two days after another member of the group, Andrei Ivantoc, was freed and banished from the breakaway territory.

Petrov-Popa and fellow Moldovans Ilie Ilascu, Andrei Ivantoc, Alexandru Lesco and Petru Godiac were arrested, judged and sentenced to prison under terrorism charges in 1992, as the conflict between the ex-Soviet Republic of Moldova and the Russia-backed breakaway region of Transdniestr unfolded. Transdniestr has never received international recognition as a state.

The first to be freed was Godiac after only two years in prison. Under international pressure, group leader Ilie Ilascu was freed in May 2001 despite receiving a death sentence. Lesco was released three years later, while Ivantoc was freed only two days ago.

Ivantoc said he was beaten and abused by Transdniestr security services shortly after his release on Saturday.

Shortly after his release, Petrov-Popa was awaited by his family in the town of Dubasari. He is expected to go directly to his sister’s in Chisinau, the Moldovan capital.

Romanian Ambassador to Chisinau Filip Teodorescu told Realitatea TV news station that his car was not allowed to access the place where Popa was released.

And the vehicle transporting Popa to Chisinau stopped shortly to allow the ex-convict hold a press conference and reveal that the media had been misinformed about the exact timing of his release.

All members of the Ilascu group had been granted Romanian citizenship.