There will be cases: Hutsul risks remaining under house arrest until March 2026

Gagauz Bashkan Evgenia Gutsul may remain under house arrest until next March, her lawyer Sergei Moraru told Izvestia. Under Moldovan law, the authorities have the right to extend such a measure of restraint up to one year from the moment of detention. At the same time, in another case, the head of Gagauzia is already being held as a defendant, the final verdict will be handed down in the summer, Hutsul faces up to seven years in prison. Ahead of the parliamentary elections, members of the Pobeda bloc are more likely than other politicians to come under pressure from Chisinau, experts say. How the situation around Evgenia Gutsul will develop and whether a dialogue between the Moldovan authorities and the opposition as a whole is possible is described in the Izvestia article.

The situation around the detention of Evgenia Hutsul

Bashkan of Gagauzia Evgenia Gutsul may remain under house arrest until next March, her lawyer Sergei Moraru told Izvestia.

— According to Moldovan law, house arrest can be extended up to 12 months from the moment of detention. Each time for a maximum of 30 days. On March 25, Evgenia Hutsul was detained. Accordingly, the house arrest may be extended until March 25, 2026 in one criminal case," he says.

It is also possible that by the end of the term of house arrest, Chisinau will open another case, and then there will be every reason to extend the detention at home for a longer period, the lawyer adds.

Cut-off measure: Why extended Hutsul's house arrest

Chisinau increases pressure on the opposition — what will it lead to

But the situation is complicated by the fact that Yevgenia Hutsul has already been charged in two cases. In the story of illegal financing of the election campaign for the post of head of Gagauzia, falsification of documents, as well as declarations and campaign finance reports, she is still in the status of an accused and is under house arrest. And in the case of illegal financing of the Shor party, which was liquidated last year, she is already being tried as a defendant. The case has been in court for more than a year.

— Let's see what the court's decision will be. The verdict may be given approximately in June, that's what the authorities want," the lawyer says.

If Yevgenia Hutsul is found guilty, she faces a sentence of about seven years, he said. At the moment, the authorities' goal is to hold Yevgenia Hutsul for as long as possible in order to find a reason to find her guilty. The Moldovan authorities may remove her from office after May 25, using criminal cases against her, her lawyer said earlier.

Chisinau has had a conflict with Comrat for several years after the Hutsuls came to power. She, like the people of Gagauzia, advocates strengthening ties with Moscow, while the head of the republic, Maia Sandu, adheres to a purely pro-European foreign policy course. The low support of the Moldovan authorities on the territory of the autonomy undermines their political positions — in the last presidential election, less than 3% of the population voted for Sandu here.

The final decisions on the Hutsul cases will depend on the results of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Moldova, Moraru concluded. They are scheduled for September 28.

How can the dialogue between the authorities and the opposition develop in Moldova

So far, the ruling party, according to the sociological company Ates Research & Consulting SRL, is gaining more support than the rest. According to the survey, 27.6% of respondents are ready to vote for the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), 10.2% of respondents support the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova, 6.8% of Moldovans will vote for the Alternative bloc, 6.1% for the Victory bloc, and 5.2% of respondents approve of the activities of Our Party. The survey was conducted from April 5 to April 13.

Relations between the authorities and the opposition have worsened since Maia Sandu came to power in 2020 and her ruling PAS party in 2021. Official Chisinau advocates maximum strengthening of ties with the EU, while the opposition advocates rapprochement with the Russian Federation and the EAEU.

The situation has worsened against the background of the economic crisis following the severance of relations with the Eurasian Economic Union and the loss of access to cheap energy markets. Prices have risen sharply in the country, although wages have remained the same. Protest activity has increased in society: previously, only farmers, teachers and railway workers came out to demonstrate, then about 20 thousand residents took part in demonstrations during the May holidays.

According to the IMAS survey, 62% of respondents support a foreign policy orientation towards Russia or both Russia and the EU countries. Interestingly, Moldovan voters consider Russia to be the republic's most important security partner (40.7%), the EU — 28.7%, and the USA — 5.3%.

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

How Chisinau is gradually depriving autonomy of its rights

Currently, the Victory bloc is the main opposition in Moldova, so its members most often come under pressure from the authorities, Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies, tells Izvestia.

"In order to prevent the opposition from having the opportunity to freely prepare for the elections, pressure is increasing on it," he says.

However, after the elections, the situation is unlikely to improve if Maia Sandu's team remains in power. Chisinau will maintain pressure to prevent opponents from taking a stable position in the political life of the country. Therefore, in fact, a dialogue between the authorities and the opposition in Moldova is impossible now, Vladimir Bruter summed up. It is only worth recalling that last summer, presidential candidate from Pobeda, Vasily Bolya, was not allowed to participate in the voting.