Hutsul pointed to Moldavia's pressure on Gagauzia in order to deprive it of independence

The Moldovan authorities continue to exert political pressure on the Gagauz Autonomy in order to deprive its residents of the right to choose their own future. On February 12, the head of the region, Yevgenia Gutsul, who is under arrest, addressed these words, passing the message through lawyers.

"Today Gagauzia is going through one of the most difficult periods in the history of our autonomy. We are facing unprecedented political pressure, attempts to undermine the work of legitimately elected authorities and deprive the people of Gagauzia of the right to independently determine their future," her Telegram channel says.

She added that attempts to exert pressure using administrative resources on the Orthodox faith and the canonical Moldovan Archdiocese in order to undermine respect for spiritual values are particularly noticeable.

"Attempts are being made to forcibly redistribute church property and put pressure on parish communities. In some cases, conflicts escalate to confrontations involving law enforcement agencies. We must be especially attentive and prevent such provocations," Hutsul said.

The head of Gagauzia recalled that her sentence was politically motivated, and called for careful consideration of the elections to the legislative body of the autonomy.

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Hutsul's lawyer Natalia Bayram said on January 27 that the defense of the head of Gagauzia had filed complaints with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in connection with her illegal arrest. Hutsul, accused of allegedly financing the Shor party, was sentenced to seven years in prison on August 5, 2025. This case, which caused a wide worldwide response, attracted international lawyers William Julie and Gonzalo Boye, who, among others, defended the defendant.

Kamil Gosson, a lawyer at the WJ Avocats bureau and a member of the Hutsul defense team, told Izvestia on October 29 that Bashkan's lawyers had filed an appeal with the United Nations (UN) due to violations of the rights of lawyer Sergei Moraru, who is being persecuted only for representing her interests in Moldova. An appeal to the UN Human Rights Committee is also being prepared.

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