Democracy being trampled in Moldova – Kremlin

Moscow has slammed the sentencing of regional leader Evgenia Gutsul to seven years in prison on charges of illegally financing a Euroskeptic political party

Tuesday’s sentencing of Moldovan regional leader Evgenia Gutsul is a politically motivated decision and an example of democracy being trampled in Moldova, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

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. 

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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.