Hutsul cited disagreement with the regime of the Moldovan authorities as the reason for her arrest.

The head of the Gagauz Autonomy, Evgenia Gutsul, said on April 9 that she had been punished by arrest in one of the most brutal institutions in Europe for disagreeing with the regime of the Moldovan authorities.

"According to international human rights activists, my stay in one of the most violent institutions in Europe has today been replaced by house arrest. I was given such a punishment by [Moldovan President Maia] Sandu and her pocket party only because <...> I am fighting for the prosperity of our autonomy and disagree with the regime," RIA Novosti quoted her as saying.

In addition, she announced on the same day that she would continue to fight for justice. 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.

Right of application: judges have left Evgenia Hutsul under arrest

What will the conflict between the authorities of Moldova and Gagauzia lead to?

On the same day, a court in Chisinau ordered the transfer of the head of Gagauzia to house arrest. According to Natalia Bayram, the politician's lawyer, 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) was monitoring the situation with the arrest of the Hutsuls and stressed the need to respect 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.