Hutsul declared her intention to continue fighting for justice

The head of Gagauzia, Evgenia Gutsul, said after the court session that she would continue to fight for justice. This was announced on April 9 by the TV channel "First in Moldova" in Telegram.

"Both the law enforcement agencies and the prosecutor's office, they acted on this case solely because of political motives. <...> Gagauzia is waiting, Gagauzia requires work, my presence, so we will continue to fight for justice," Hutsul said.

She also noted that she was under arrest in a prison with poor conditions of detention. According to the head of the autonomy, the Moldovan authorities are putting pressure on the opposition, fighting it instead of solving social and economic problems in the country.

"Everything that is happening today is just the suppression of the Gagauz people. <...> There is simply incredible pressure on the opposition because we have a different opinion," Hutsul stressed.

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Earlier that day, a court in Chisinau ordered the transfer of the head of Gagauzia to house arrest. According to Natalia Bayram, the lawyer of the politician, the term of the preventive measure will be 30 days. The lawyer added that the defense considers the verdict of the court to be excessively strict.

Hutsul was detained at the Chisinau airport on March 25. According to the Moldovan Prosecutor General's Office, this happened after her name was found on the list of persons prohibited from leaving the country. On March 28, the head of Gagauzia was arrested for 20 days.

On April 3, the official representative of the UN Secretary General, Stephane Dujarric, said that the United Nations (UN) is monitoring the situation with the arrest of Hutsuls and emphasizes the need to comply with legal procedure and the rule of law. On April 2, after her arrest, the politician herself called on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to pay attention to the situation around Gagauzia. Gutsul stressed that the Moldovan judicial system is used by the authorities as a tool to "dismantle the autonomy" of the region.