"Shame of justice": the head of Gagauzia Hutsul sentenced to seven years in prison

On Tuesday, August 5, it became known about the sentencing of the head of the Gagauz Autonomy within Moldova, Evgenia Gutsul. The Chisinau District Court sentenced her to seven years in prison in the case of financing the Shor party banned in Moldova. For more information about the court's decision, as well as about the persecution of Hutsuls— see the Izvestia article.

A harsh sentence

On August 5, the Chisinau District Court sentenced the head of Gagauzia, Yevgenia Gutsul, to seven years in semi-closed prison with immediate execution. She was accused of financing the Shor party, which is banned in Moldova. Journalist Vasily Moiseenko spoke about the verdict from the courtroom.

Many people gathered in front of the building where the case was heard in support of Yevgenia Hutsul; the protests that began after her arrest are becoming more active every day. However, the actions did not affect the court's decision.

It is important to note that the prosecutors of the Moldovan Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office demanded nine years in prison as punishment for the Hutsuls, with a ban on holding public office for five years. According to investigators, in 2019-2022, Yevgenia Hutsul allegedly received large sums from Russia to finance the Shor election campaign in the elections in Gagauzia in 2023. Hutsul herself and her lawyers said that the case against her was political persecution on the eve of the parliamentary elections.

Evgenia Gutsul's lawyer Natalia Bayram called the verdict illegitimate and a disgrace to the Moldovan justice system.

"How can we comment on this absolutely illegitimate decision and this process? I can't comment, but I think international organizations will give a real verdict on this case. This is a disgrace for Moldova! And for the Moldovan justice system," she said.

Reaction to the Hutsul verdict

Russia reacted sharply to the court's decision against the Hutsuls. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that the Kremlin sees how the rules of democracy are being flouted in Moldova, people are being deprived of the opportunity to vote for those they prefer, "the opposition is being squeezed."

"Yes, this is an example of a politically motivated decision, it is an example of illegal pressure on political opponents during the election campaign," Dmitry Peskov said.

The first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Alexei Chepa, in an interview with Izvestia, called the verdict against Yevgenia Hutsul a political outrage.

"This is the suppression of all opposition, this is a dictatorship, the lack of freedom of speech in the country. Moldovan President Maia Sandu is losing power, she is not holding it, and she won the last election due to fraud in the West," he said.

He also expressed the opinion that the Moldovan people would not forgive the current government for the actions it had committed.

"Sandu's attempt to stay in power with the help of Western patrons, they still won't lead to the desired results," he concluded.

Hutsul called the verdict of the court in her case a planned political massacre.

Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council, wrote on his Telegram channel that the verdict was "a decision by the authorities, not the court. And this is a massacre of a political opponent on the eve of the parliamentary elections on September 28."

"The dictatorship in Moldova, I have no doubt, will receive indulgence from the West this time, which is unceremoniously interfering in the (non-) sovereign affairs of this long-suffering country. Her fate has been determined by foreign citizens and from abroad for many years. It shouldn't be like this. I hope that the limit will come soon. Moldova and its citizens deserve a better fate! Rays of support for Evgenia Alexandrovna Hutsul, the popularly elected Bashkan (head of the autonomy — Ed.) of Gagauzia!" he wrote.

Moldova itself reacted to the court's decision. Its former head and leader of the opposition Party of Socialists, Igor Dodon, wrote in his Telegram channel: "All that the 'reformed' justice of Maya Sandu was able to achieve was to sentence a woman, a mother, and a leader of the local administration, elected by the people, to seven years in prison." According to him, "Moldovans live in an autocratic state run by people devoid of empathy and concern for citizens and the people."

The story of the persecution of Evgenia Hutsul

The conflict between the head of Gagauzia and the Moldovan government began in 2023, after the election of Hutsul. Maia Sandu then stated that the elections in the autonomy had been held with numerous violations, and later Moldovan police officers arrived at the Central Election Commission of Gagauzia and seized electoral lists and other documents. According to them, this was done because of criminal cases on suspicion of illegal financing of the election campaign, bribery of voters by Shor, incorrect compilation of electoral lists and other violations.

After Hutsul took office, conflicts with the authorities continued due to her membership in the Shor party, which Maya Sandu calls a "criminal group." For the same reason, the President declared her unwillingness to appoint Hutsul as a member of the government.

The situation escalated in March 2024, when the head of Gagauzia arrived in Russia and had a brief conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. During this trip, the Moldovan authorities informed her about the beginning of criminal prosecution. The heads of the Moldovan state security agencies accused the leadership of the autonomy of preparing to "destabilize" the situation in the south of the country in order to hinder the "development and European vector of Moldova." Two weeks later, she was detained, spent several days in prison, and then was placed under house arrest.

In April 2024, it became known that Yevgenia Hutsul was involved in a criminal case initiated back in 2022 against Shor on the fact of "illegal financing" of the opposition party. She and the former head of the Shor headquarters in Chisinau, Svetlana Popan, were accused of receiving 9.74 million lei ($530,000) to finance the party from an "organized criminal group." Hutsul called the charges falsified, noting that Maia Sandu and the ruling Action and Solidarity Party are behind everything. At the same time, prosecutors previously stated that Hutsul, working as a secretary at Shor, allegedly received money from Russia to finance the party in 2019-2022.

False choice: Moldovan authorities may appoint a new bashkan of Gagauzia

How Chisinau is gradually depriving autonomy of its rights

In March 2025, the Moldovan authorities charged Hutsul with illegally financing their election campaign in 2023. She was detained on the 25th and later placed under house arrest.

Evgenia Gutsul's attitude towards Russia

After her election in 2023, Evgenia Gutsul called for strengthening friendly relations between the region and Russia and criticized Chisinau's policy of confrontation with Moscow. Among her first measures in the post of Gagauzia, Hutsul named the opening of a representative office of the autonomy in Moscow, as well as negotiations on unblocking agricultural exports to Russia.