Pianist Alexander Paley, stemming from Moldova, has expressed indignation at the detention conditions at the Italian prison, where he spent 2 days and 2 nights, "and where I could well catch COVID-19".

Palei told a news conference at Infotag on Thursday that due to the coronavirus pandemic, he had forcedly violated a timeframe of staying in Europe, "I cannot even say for sure - may be for 4 days".

"I was on a concert tour, during which I filled in hundreds of forms and other papers, and my American passport has no empty space - all filled with rubber stamps. I flew from Chisinau to Milan, on my way to Vilnius [Lithuania]. Since recently, I have been a professor of Academy in Kaunas [Lithuania's second-largest city], where students were waiting for me. But in Italy, I received accusations of violating a timeframe of stay in that country, and I was locked up in a jail. I was not alone there. E.g. in the women's section, there was a lady painter from Argentina. I actually did not mind waiting [until an incident settlement], but I was just shocked with an awful, savage insanity. Italian warders explained that such severe measures are applied to foreigners for their violation of the periods of stay in Europe", said Paley.

The 65-year-old maestro acknowledged the violation from his part, "but I could not agree with the monstrous detention conditions". He described some details of the atmosphere in the Italian custody that really sounded revolting.

"And it was only after a change of the warden shift and after my resolute threat to go on a hunger strike that the prison cell was at last cleansed", said the pianist.

"So, I returned to Chisinau, and now I am on my way to Vilnius, and then will resume lessons with my students. But my Italian experience will certainly be remaining long in my memory", said Alexander Paley, who emigrated to the United States yet in 1988.