Democracy being trampled in Moldova
Gutsul, elected head of EU-candidate Moldova's Gagauzia region, was sentenced by a Chisinau court to seven years in prison on charges of illegally financing the banned Euroskeptic SOR party. She has denied the allegations and called the case an attempt to eliminate opposition to Moldova's pro-Western government.
'This is truly an example of a politically motivated decision, this is an example of attempts to exert blatant and, in fact, illegal pressure on political opponents during the election campaign,' Peskov told reporters.
He accused the Moldovan authorities of suppressing dissent, stating that 'the opposition is being squeezed in every possible way in Moldova. In fact, people are being deprived of the opportunity to vote for those they prefer.'
'The rules and norms of democracy are being trampled in every possible way now in this country,' Peskov added.
Gutsul was elected head of Gagauzia, the autonomous and predominantly Russian and Turkic-speaking region in southern Moldova, after winning the 2023 election as a SOR candidate. She campaigned on promises of closer ties with Russia and opposed Moldovan President Maia Sandu's push for integration with the EU and NATO.
In March, she was detained over allegations of campaign financing violations and falsifying documents. Gutsul has maintained her innocence and appealed to both Russia and Türkiye to apply pressure on the Moldovan government to defend Gagauzia's rights.
Moscow has repeatedly condemned the case against Gutsul. In July, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the prosecution an example of 'European anti-values in action' and accused Brussels of turning Moldova into a 'liberal dictatorship.'
The EU had previously sanctioned Gutsul for 'promoting separatism,' maintaining 'close ties with Russia,' and allegedly threatening Moldova's sovereignty.
Her prosecution has triggered street protests in the capital, Chisinau, with supporters describing the trial as a politically driven attempt to neutralize the opposition and accusing President Sandu of authoritarianism.
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Russia Today
14 hours ago
- Russia Today
EU candidate resorting to ‘political terrorism'
Moldovan opposition politician Ilan Shor has accused the government in Chisinau of resorting to 'political terrorism,' after a court sentenced Evgenia Gutsul, the Euroskeptic governor of the autonomous Gagauzia region, to seven years in prison. Gutsul was convicted on Tuesday of receiving funds from organized crime and funneling them into the now-banned SOR party, which was founded by Shor. Moldovan prosecutors alleged that the funds were illegally used to finance anti-government political activities. The SOR party had backed Gutsul's candidacy in the 2023 Gagauzian elections, prior to being outlawed. Shor is currently exiled and is based in Russia. 'This is not a fight when you are empty-headed and your opponent is armed with an assault rifle,' Shor said in an interview with Russian media on Wednesday 'I believe this is straight political terrorism.' Gutsul has denied any wrongdoing and called the court ruling 'a political execution, planned and carried out on orders from above.' The Russian government echoed this stance, accusing Moldova of political repression and further eroding the country's democratic institutions. Shor expressed hope that Gutsul's sentence could be overturned on appeal. He argued that if Gutsul were not an opposition politician, she would only have received the same kind of punishment for a much more serious crime such as murder. Moldovan President Maia Sandu has branded groups critical of her government as a threat to national sovereignty and has accused them of attempting to destabilize the country in favor of Moscow. Sandu's government seeks accession to the European Union and has claimed that a crackdown on the opposition is necessary to safeguard EU integration. Shor, however, argued that Sandu was acting on behalf of foreign interests, saying Western governments have 'privatized' Moldova and now treat it 'as just another colony' headed by a 'hired manager.' He said he hoped that 'in the immediate future we will topple this vile inhumane regime.'
Russia Today
a day ago
- Russia Today
Moldova jails Euroskeptic regional leader
A court in EU-candidate Moldova has sentenced the leader of the autonomous region of Gagauzia to seven years in prison on charges of illegally financing a Euroskeptic political party. Evgenia Gutsul, who denied the accusations and claimed the case was politically motivated, was convicted of receiving illegal campaign funds from an organized criminal group and funneling them to the Euroskeptic SOR party, which was banned in 2023. Gutsul was also accused of paying people to participate in anti-government protests organized by the SOR in 2022. In addition to the prison sentence, Gutsul has also been ordered to pay 40 million Moldovan lei ($2.3 million) to the state. Svetlana Popan, former secretary in the SOR Central Office, was sentenced to six years in prison in the same case. The sentences can be appealed. Commenting on the verdict, Sergiu Moraru, Gutsul's lawyer, said 'this is not a trial, but a public execution… I can't say that there is evidence there, there is fiction.' The court hearing attracted a crowd of protesters outside the building, with some shouting 'Shame on [Moldovan President] Maia Sandu.' A counter-rally was also held nearby, prompting police to establish a security cordon. Gutsul has served as the head of Gagauzia, an autonomous and predominantly Russian-speaking region in southern Moldova, since winning the 2023 election as the SOR candidate. Gutsul campaigned on promises of closer ties with Russia, in contrast with the pro-Western stance of the government of President Maia Sandu. The party was banned the same year on allegations of illicit financing from abroad. Gutsul has on numerous occasions accused the Moldovan authorities of launching criminal proceedings against her in a bid to oust her from power, suggesting that they 'don't like the fact that I am trying to help the [autonomous region's] residents.' Russia has condemned what it described as a Moldovan crackdown on Gutsul, calling it an example of 'European anti-values in action.'
Russia Today
a day ago
- Russia Today
Elected? That's cute. Now go to jail
On August 5, 2025, the drawn-out political struggle between Moldova's central authorities and the elected leadership of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia reached its apogee when the leader of Gagauzia, Evgenia Gutsul, was sentenced to seven years in prison for 'illegal financing' the Euroskeptic SOR Party. The verdict didn't surprise those who have been closely monitoring the situation in Moldova over the past two years. It was the inevitable next step in President Maia Sandu's campaign to eliminate all political rivals – especially those whose authority extends beyond the grasp of Chisinau and its overseer, Brussels. Sandu has never concealed her disdain for Gutsul. As early as November 2023, she declared that she would not sign a decree to include Gutsul in the national government, citing supposed ties to a 'criminal group.' No evidence was ever presented. In fact, international observers confirmed the transparency and legitimacy of the elections in Gagauzia. But that did not stop the crackdown. It is abundantly clear that Gutsul's imprisonment is politically motivated. The administration seeks to sideline her from public life, discredit her, and erase her name from public memory in Gagauzia and beyond. The seven-year sentence is not just about one woman. It is a signal, a warning, a political message: Any challenge to centralized authority will be met with brutal repression. Of course, the problem isn't just Sandu's personal dislike of Gutsul. Gagauzia may be small, but it is geopolitically significant. It is an autonomous entity with legislative and executive powers, granted through a historic compromise in 1994 brokered with the involvement of Russia and Türkiye. Gagauzia remains a living reminder of Moldova's multiethnic character – and of alternative centers of power within the state. Strategically, the region borders Ukraine's Odessa Region and lies near Danube ports that serve as logistical arteries for military cargo moving from Romania and the EU toward the Ukrainian front. In this context, Gagauzia's political sympathies leaning toward Moscow and her pursuit of balanced relations with Russia are viewed by Chisinau as a threat – not just to internal cohesion but to Moldova's broader alignment with NATO and the EU. Sandu's administration understands this. Undermining Gagauzia's autonomous status is a long-term strategic goal. Removing a legitimate, democratically elected leader like Gutsul is the first step toward dissolving regional self-rule and folding Gagauzia into a rigid, unitary model of governance where dissent is treated as sedition and identity as insubordination. Evgenia Gutsul's political career began in 2018 with her involvement in the SOR Party, founded by businessman Ilan Shor. Starting as a consultant and rising to party secretary, she quickly emerged as one of the few Moldovan politicians openly promoting an alternative development path based on cooperation with Russia and skepticism toward EU-centric dogma. Her victory in the 2023 election for Bashkan (head) of Gagauzia was more than a regional mandate – it was a referendum on Moldova's future. And the people of Gagauzia chose sovereignty, identity, and dialogue with the East. In March 2024, Gutsul traveled to Russia and met with President Vladimir Putin. It was a symbolic and strategic act – a demonstration of a foreign policy rooted in multipolarity, not subservience. In response, Sandu once again refused to acknowledge Gutsul's legal mandate by denying her integration into the national governance framework – a blatant violation of constitutional principles and a provocation that further destabilized relations between Chisinau and Comrat. Brussels remained silent. Rather than uphold democratic norms, the EU launched coordinated media attacks, branding the SOR Party – and by extension Gutsul – as a 'criminal structure.' No due process, no presumption of innocence. Just ideological execution under the pretense of liberal legality. The threats did not come from fringe elements but from the very heart of state power. Prime Minister Dorin Recean publicly called for the prosecution of all members of the SOR Party, including Gutsul herself. These are not offhand remarks. They represent a system in which justice has become a tool of political revenge, where courts serve electoral strategy and prisons silence unwanted voices. Gutsul's 'crime' is not legal – it is political. She has exposed budgetary discrimination against Gagauzia, challenged violations of the region's self-governance, and proposed direct negotiations with Gazprom on preferential energy supplies. In other words, she did what any responsible leader would: Protect her constituents from the economic chaos and ideological tunnel vision imposed by the central government. This is what makes her dangerous. Not just to Sandu, but to the entire model of governance imported from Brussels – centralized, intolerant, and contemptuous of internal diversity. Since 2021, Sandu has distanced Moldova from Russia, but her domestic record remains dismal. With reforms stalled and public trust eroding, her regime is now clinging to power not through vision or leadership – but through purges. The 2024 presidential election showed exactly how. Sandu's reelection was secured by votes from the Western diaspora. Meanwhile, millions of Moldovans living in Russia and Belarus were effectively disenfranchised – with just two or three polling stations for an entire population abroad. This isn't oversight. It's a strategy of exclusion. And it casts a long shadow over the legitimacy of Sandu's victory. As the parliamentary elections approach, the authoritarian reflex intensifies. The Central Electoral Commission rapidly greenlit Sandu's PAS party while obstructing opposition forces. Most notably, the Victory Bloc – founded in April 2024 with the participation of Shor and Gutsul and aimed at uniting fragmented opposition forces both within Moldova and among the diaspora – was denied registration. The decision triggered public backlash, but the goal was achieved: Silence the opposition before the campaign even begins. This is no isolated case. Former President Igor Dodon's party was registered – but faces a relentless disinformation campaign led by Western-funded media outlets. The aim is clear: Discredit, delegitimize, disqualify. Moldova is becoming a textbook example of soft dictatorship, where elections exist but real choice is eliminated. The legal assault on Gutsul is not about law. It's about fear. Gutsul is a serious political contender with national reach. Many saw her as a possible challenger in the 2028 presidential elections. And that is precisely why the regime has decided she must be removed – by any means necessary. Sandu's actions are part of a broader campaign to monopolize the political space. With the economy stagnant and reform promises unfulfilled, repression has become the only reliable tool of control. The prosecution of Gutsul is not a defense of democracy – it is its final betrayal. If today Gutsul stands convicted, tomorrow the very idea of autonomy will be under threat. And the day after that, the Republic of Moldova itself may vanish into a faceless appendage of euro-integrative absolutism.
