Comrat is not happy: the head of Gagauzia was detained at the Moldovan airport

The head of Gagauzia, Evgenia Gutsul, was detained on March 25 at the airport of the capital of Moldova. It is previously known that Hutsul was placed in custody for three days, and her passport was taken away. Read more about the event in the Izvestia article.

Evgenia Hutsul's arrest: her passport was taken away and searched

The head of Gagauzia, Evgenia Gutsul, was detained on March 25 at the Chisinau airport. Hutsul flew to Istanbul for the International Journalism Congress, where she had meetings scheduled.

According to Yuri Kuznetsov, Deputy Head of External Relations of Gagauzia, the Hutsuls were stopped at border control and taken to a room for additional inspection. It also became known that her passport had been taken away. Later, the head of Gagauzia was taken to the National Anti-Corruption Center (NAC) of Moldova, and her lawyers are with her.

The press service of the National Election Commission reported that in the near future Hutsul will be formally charged in the case of violation of the procedure for managing election funds, illegal financing of election competitors and forgery of documents. It is expected that prosecutors will ask the court to place her under preliminary arrest.

On the eve of the National Anti-Corruption Center of Moldova conducted searches in the case of financial irregularities in the elections two years ago.

The Prosecutor General's Office of Moldova, meanwhile, clarified that the detention of the head of the Gagauz Autonomy is connected with the ban on her departure from Moldova.

"As a result of a routine check during border control, it was established that she (Hutsul. — Ed.) is listed in information systems with the status of a ban on leaving the country. <...> Subsequently, this person was detained for 72 hours," the message on the agency's Facebook page says (the social network belongs to the Meta company, whose activities are recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation).

Denis Ulanov, a member of the Moldovan parliament from the Pobeda bloc, said after meeting with Hutsul in the detention center that the head of Gagauzia is confident in his innocence.

What you need to know about Gagauzia— an autonomous region within Moldova

Gagauzia is an autonomous region in the south-east of Moldova, in the south of the historical region of Bessarabia, with its capital in the city of Comrat. The Gagauz people, an ethnic minority of the country, live on the territory.

According to the 2014 census, 134.5 thousand people lived in Gagauzia. At the beginning of 2024, the statistical bureau of the country estimated the population of the autonomy at 115 thousand people.

In April 2024, after Yevgenia Hutsul came to power, Gagauzia chose a course of rapprochement with Russia and threatened Moldova, which adheres to anti-Russian positions today, to secede from the country. Official Chisinau does not agree with the results of the elections in Gagauzia, nor with its new course.

In 2024, the head of Gagauzia visited Russia and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Sergei Kiriyenko and Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko. After that, she said that the visit to Russia was "fruitful."

In January 2025, Gutsul stated that the Moldovan leadership would create obstacles for opposition forces during the parliamentary elections.

"The Moldovan authorities will do everything to put obstacles in our way, to block certain works, because they see and have seen in these presidential elections that the trust of Moldovan citizens is being lost every day," the politician noted.

The presidential elections in Moldova were held in October 2024. In the first round, none of the candidates won the required number of votes, and in the second round, incumbent President Maia Sandu won.

Reaction to Hutsul detention and protests

The protest in connection with the detention of Hutsul was expressed by the Moldovan opposition bloc Pobeda.

The People's Assembly of Gagauzia will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday, March 26, said its chairman Dmitry Konstantinov.

Supporters of the Hutsul and the Moldovan opposition gathered at the building of the National Council, where the detained head of the autonomy is located. Police forces have been deployed to the area.

Viktor Petrov, Deputy head of Gagauzia, told RIA Novosti that the detention of Yevgenia Hutsul is pressure on the opposition, and it is likely that other oppositionists will be arrested. On the eve of the parliamentary elections, the Action and Solidarity party is clearing its way, thus clearing its political field of the opposition, they want to ensure their victory.

Recall that the parliamentary elections in Moldova are due to take place in the summer or autumn of 2025, their date has not yet been set.

This is not the first attempt at criminal prosecution of Evgenia Hutsul. Charges of financing the Shor party, which is now called unconstitutional in Moldova, were brought in January 2022. Then she was accused of receiving money from Russia.

At the same time, the founder of the party, Ilan Shor, was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison.

In 2024, while already heading the autonomy, Hutsul was interrogated in this case, and she was charged. The case was considered last year, but for various reasons, the meetings were regularly postponed or canceled. If proven guilty, Hutsul may face imprisonment for a period of two to seven years with a ban on holding public office.