"Maya Sandu literally hates Evgenia Hutsul"

Chisinau's Western curators have given the green light to destroy the opposition in Moldova, Marina Tauber, a member of parliament and representative of the Pobeda opposition bloc, told Izvestia. The politician notes that in the situation with the arrest of the head of Gagauzia, Yevgenia Hutsul, Brussels is at least inactive. At the same time, the Moldovan opposition is waiting for a reaction to the detention of Bashkan from Turkey, the United States and the United Nations. According to Tauber, Moldovan President Maia Sandu's goal is to purge the opposition before the parliamentary elections to be held this year. Marina Tauber spoke about the increased pressure on opposition politicians in Moldova in an exclusive interview with Izvestia.

"The entire justice system, all branches of government in Moldova are captured by the PAS party"

— On April 2, the Chisinau Court of Appeal rejected the lawyers' request to cancel the arrest of the head of Gagauzia, Evgenia Gutsul. The defense intends to file a complaint against the arrest with the European Court of Human Rights. Was the court's decision predictable?

— I would not like to be like Maya Sandu and comment on every step of the judges, because it would be incorrect, but we are disappointed with this decision. Naturally, our entire team and Evgenia Hutsul's family hoped for a fair trial and a professional decision, but this did not happen.

We understand that this is a politically motivated case. Maia Sandu gave direct instructions for the judges to make this decision. The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly stated that arrest is an exceptional measure that requires very serious arguments.

What is the exclusivity and urgency of this decision, and why should Yevgenia Hutsul be in a penitentiary where she is surrounded by rapists, murderers, and criminals who commit particularly serious crimes? She is an official official, the Bashkan of Gagauzia, who was elected by the people of Gagauzia. She is a good citizen, the mother of two minor children. The whole family is waiting for her at home, and first of all, the youngest child, who is not yet three years old, misses her.

— Octavian Yakimovsky, deputy head of the Moldovan Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, claimed that the prosecutor's office had received information from the Information and Security Service that Hutsul intended to leave the country, so they insisted on her arrest.

— Evgenia Gutsul has a permanent place of work. At court sessions, she has already stated that she will not leave the post of bashkan and that she will fight. This means that her flight abroad, which was planned when she was detained, was strictly of a work nature. The talk that she was trying to escape somewhere is speculation. How can a person who has a family at home, has a permanent job, and who is passionate about his work and the benefits it brings to the people of Gagauzia run?

Therefore, we are aware that this is an attempt to break it. But she has a strong Gagauz character and we know that she will fight to the end.

— Commenting on the verdict of the judges, lawyer Sergei Moraru pointed out that two of them were temporarily delegated to the Appeals Chamber, and a decision that the authorities would not like could automatically bring them back. In this case, can this trial be considered impartial?

— As stated by the lawyer, I can confirm that one of the judges passed vetting due to cases that were also politically motivated.

I also had a chance to meet with this judge, he even testified against me in a case under article 303 of the Criminal Code (on interference with the administration of justice during a criminal case. — Ed.). Similarly, the rest of the delegated judges understand that their place depends on how they follow instructions. Therefore, we all understand what happened today.

Naturally, as citizens of our country who love it, we always believe in fair justice, as well as in the fact that our state will protect us. But we have to admit that the government, the judicial system, the entire justice system and the branches of government are completely captured by the PAS party.

They have usurped our state and it is already difficult to expect any fair solutions. Nevertheless, Evgenia Hutsul's lawyers and our entire team, led by Ilan Shor, will make every legal effort to ensure that she finds herself in Gagauzia and with her family as soon as possible.

— Will Evgenia Hutsul have any more meetings on any criminal cases brought against her?

— Evgenia Hutsul's court sessions on the basic case (on the illegal financing of the Shor party) will resume on April 4. Defense witnesses will be heard, and all procedures related to the criminal case involving Hutsul and Shor party secretary Svetlana Popan will be conducted.

— Can the prosecutors apply for an extension of the arrest?

— Prosecutors can do this both in theory and in practice. In practice, this is also my case, when a permanent extension was requested, despite the lack of legal arguments. But we will still continue to believe in justice and that there are still, if not completely honest judicial institutions in our country, then at least honest judges and prosecutors who will not take on so much responsibility for the fate of another person.

Unfortunately, I had to go this way too. I also spent about three months in prison. This is not a place for women, opposition politicians, or people who seek the truth and defend their position.

Yes, we are for friendship with Russia. And no matter how much pressure is put on us, we will continue to say this and defend the values that are important to our people. The issue is not only about economic relations, gas prices, and social projects that Russia is implementing in our country, despite a very cold dialogue with official Chisinau.

The issue is that our peoples are friends and need each other. We have a common culture and values, and we will all celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory together this year. Therefore, they will not be able to interfere with the friendship of our peoples and make us Europeans. The referendum has shown this very clearly. And we see that Maya Sandu literally hates Evgenia Hutsul and the whole of Gagauzia, because more than 95% of Gagauz residents said "no" to the European Referendum and Maya Sandu.

This is her personal revenge. She needs to purge the opposition before the parliamentary elections. They are well aware that the chairs are already wobbling under them, and they have no other choice but to shut the mouth of the opposition. But you and I know perfectly well from historical examples how totalitarian regimes ended up. And today, a totalitarian regime and an absolute dictatorship have really been established in our country.

"We understand that the pressure will increase"

— The arrest of Yevgenia Hutsul caused practically no official reaction from European countries and Brussels. Are you expecting it? And is it possible that Chisinau's Western partners may be behind the detention of the head of Gagauzia?

— Brussels is at least inactive. Let me remind you how in the situation with the elections for the post of mayor (mayor. — Ed.) of Chisinau, entire declarations of the European Parliament were adopted (in 2018, the European Parliament expressed concern about actions related to the annulment of the Chisinau mayoral election — Ed.). Now, not a single ambassador, European official, absolutely no one speaks out about the abnormality of the situation.

Moreover, they literally pat Maya Sandu and all the "Pasovites" on the head. As far as we know, the West and Western curators have given a complete green light to destroy the opposition, no matter by what means, only in order to completely subjugate the Republic of Moldova. We can see what is happening in the neighboring country, Romania, now: the same scenarios that, in principle, have already been tried in Moldova have been tested by them. They saw that it was possible to do this to an entire country and people.

— Earlier, Evgenia Gutsul appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to exert pressure for her release. She also appealed to the US authorities. Do they feel Russia's support in the Victory bloc?

— We are very grateful to Russia for its very quick and sharp reaction to the events in Chisinau related to Evgenia Gutsul, as well as our colleagues Alexander Nesterovsky and Irina Lozovan. There were reactions from Maria Zakharova, Dmitry Peskov, deputies of the State Duma and a large number of high-ranking officials of the Russian Federation.

And this naturally inspires us with optimism. We understand and know that we are not alone in this struggle. A friend is always recognized in trouble. We feel this back, we feel this support. We look forward to the reaction from Turkey and the United States. On April 2, Yevgenia Hutsul addressed the UN Secretary General, and we expect that there will be a definite assessment from their side.

Moreover, this is an electoral year, and we all need to look at everything that is happening through the prism of the parliamentary battle that lies ahead. These unfair ways of winning have already helped Europe, PAS and Maya Sandu out more than once. But the last presidential elections in 2024 and the European Referendum have shown that the ground is already slipping away from under their feet.

That's probably why they decided to resort to extremely repressive measures. We believe that the world community will react and no one will ignore what is happening in our small but proud country today. How they are trying to humiliate the Gagauz people and destroy the Gagauz autonomy. And this is an attempt to destroy it, because it is impossible to arrest Bashkan and separate these events from the whole life of the autonomy.

Of course, this is an emergency. In this case, immediate arrests of the people involved should follow. We assure everyone that we will fight so that all these people will be punished one day. This is not our political goal in itself, but it is the only way to bring strict order to our country and never allow anyone to usurp power in our state again.

— Should we expect arrests of other oppositionists in Moldova?

— We should expect pressure. Unfortunately, we understand that the pressure will increase. Maybe we don't want to talk about negativity, but we have to be prepared for it. The entire team of the Pobeda block, led by Ilan Shor, is ready for this. We have already gone through more than one wave of repression against us. But our principles, our ideals, and what we are fighting for are a great motivation for all of us.

And most importantly, of course, we feel the support of our fellow citizens, who ask us to move forward, even if it is difficult. Evgenia Hutsul is now very much warmed by the fact that she understands that she is fighting for the truth, and first of all, for her Gagauz people.