Violent action: Hutsul verdict will trigger new protests in Moldova
The verdict of the head of Gagauzia, Yevgenia Hutsul, will cause protests on the eve of the parliamentary elections, experts say. Maia Sandu's ruling party is apparently testing the borders of the republic's citizens, checking at what point they will run out of patience. But despite the downgrade, she is likely to win. On August 5, the head of the autonomous region was sentenced to seven years in prison for financing the opposition. Pickets in support of the Bashkan began in Chisinau in the morning, the police surrounded the courthouse, and the Hutsul family was not allowed inside. The day before, a meeting was held on the case of Marina Tauber, a deputy from the Pobeda opposition bloc, which was also accompanied by rallies — her sentence will be announced on September 30.
The case of Evgenia Hutsul: details
On August 5, the court sentenced the head of Gagauzia, Yevgenia Hutsul, to seven years in prison. She was found guilty under the article on "illegal financing of political parties and election campaigns, violation of the procedure for managing the financial resources of political parties and election funds." Before being sent to the Bashkan colony of the Moldovan autonomy, she will be in the 13th prison, known for terrible conditions, her lawyer Natalia Bayram notes. The defense has already stated that it will challenge the verdict. Hutsul herself called it a political massacre by Chisinau.
— This decision has nothing to do with justice. This is a political massacre, planned and executed on orders from above. <...> This is an attempt to intimidate the residents of Gagauzia, who have the courage to vote differently from the way the ruling party wants," she said.
The whole process in this case was accompanied by numerous protests, the courthouse was cordoned off by the police from the very beginning. The family of Evgenia Hutsul was also not allowed to attend the meeting. A photo of her saying goodbye to her husband and young son has spread across the Internet.
— The police blocked the approaches to the building, that is, not everyone was able to get there, they tried to cut off the entrances to cars, but people continued to walk anyway, and there were provocateurs of the ruling party, which is controlled by President Maya Sandu, and you saw that people were provoked, — commented the deputy of the State Duma, chairman of the Council of the Autonomous Republic of "Eurasia" by Alain Arshinov.
Despite the prolonged persecution of the Bashkan of Gagauzia, the court's decision was unexpected and causes confusion among many citizens, Moldovan MP from the parliamentary Bloc of Communists and Socialists Bogdan Tsyrdea tells Izvestia.
— The decision to give seven years in prison to a mother of two children, a very young woman who has just started her participation in the political struggle and against whom, by and large, there is no serious evidence of illegal financing, is puzzling, and even before the elections. Many of my colleagues believed that she would be given a suspended sentence to save face, and not directly trample on the politician. And then the verdict, the arrest, the mother, husband, children were not allowed into the courtroom, deputies were not allowed. It certainly caused a serious shock to everyone," he says.
Evgenia Gutsul was detained at the Chisinau airport on March 25. Then she was accused of forgery of documents, violation of the procedure for managing the financial resources of election funds and illegal financing of election competitors. In April, she was charged with receiving money from an "organized criminal group", as Moldovan authorities and prosecutors call people from the entourage of the leader of the opposition bloc "Victory" Ilan Shor. Another party functionary, Svetlana Popan, is being investigated along with Hutsul in this case.
Hutsul became the bashkan of Gagauzia in 2023, and at the same time she began a conflict with Moldovan President Maya Sandu. She has never met personally with the leader of the autonomy after the Hutsul took office and, in violation of the law, refused to include her in the government of the republic. Currently, there are no representatives of Gagauzia in the Moldovan parliament.
It is obvious that the discontent of Sandu, who has embarked on European integration, was caused by the pro-Russian position of the Hutsul. Bashkan has been advocating for strengthening ties with the Russian Federation all this time. The politician even personally met with Vladimir Putin in 2024. "If I have the opportunity, I will meet with Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin for the second time. And no amount of pressure will scare me. The people of the Republic of Moldova are behind me, the people of Gagauzia are behind me. I know what they want," Bashkan said. The reaction to the court's decision was immediately received from the Russian Federation.
— The court sentenced the legitimate head of Gagauzia, Evgenia Hutsul, to seven years in prison. For being legitimate and fulfilling her duty on the basis of the law. The Sandu regime throws people into prisons for enforcing the law. This is not just a disgrace, it is an attack, a disaster that has attacked Moldova and its people," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
The situation in Moldova before the elections
It is possible that Maya Sandu initially only wanted to replace the head of Gagauzia. Evgenia Hutsul spent almost all this time under house arrest. And according to the law, the head of the autonomy is changed if the current one does not fulfill his duties within 60 days. Hutsul's position was widely supported among the Gagauz people, which clearly did not play into the hands of Sandu and her ruling Action and Solidarity party. According to the results of the presidential elections in 2024, less than 3% of the autonomy's population voted for Sandu. At the same time, a referendum on Moldova's accession to the EU was held — 95% of Gagauz residents opposed this process.
Ironically, after the detention of Hutsul, the rating of the ruling party in Moldova fell. Protests began to take place frequently in the republic. The day before, on August 4, a rally was held due to a hearing on the case of Marina Tauber, an opposition MP and member of the Pobeda bloc. She is also accused of financing the already liquidated Shor party and interfering in justice, including by participating in a rally in support of Ilan Shor last year. The prosecutor's office demands 13 years in prison for her. Tauber is currently in Moscow, and she will be put on the wanted list after the verdict is announced.
After the detention of Evgenia Hutsul, other representatives of the Victory bloc also came under pressure. For example, Irina Lozovan, a member of the Moldovan parliament, was sentenced to six years in prison, and her husband to five. Alexey Lunga, the head of the opposition Chance party, was also detained at the airport. After the high-profile Hutsul verdict, protests should be expected at least in the capital of Gagauzia, Comrat, HSE analyst Nicole Bodisteanu tells Izvestia.
— A term of seven years is quite serious for Moldovan justice, but in contrast to recent decisions regarding smugglers and drug dealers, it does not look quite adequate. It seems that the current government is testing the borders of the citizens of the republic, at which point they will run out of patience," the expert draws attention.
By the way, tens of thousands of people protested against Maia Sandu in Chisinau at the end of July. The demonstration was organized by several parties at once. A large-scale campaign was also held during the May holidays. However, Chisinau still fears growing tension in society ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for September 28.
From the point of view of Moldovan legislation, these are the most important elections in the country. Thus, the candidate for the post of Prime Minister is nominated by the president, but approved by the Parliament. Therefore, if Maia Sandu's political forces lose the majority, it will be very difficult for her to promote a candidate who is convenient for herself and she will have to take into account the position of the majority coalition. By the way, the local CEC has already begun to refuse to register opposition candidates for the elections, in particular, the Victory bloc. In order to prevent the opposition from participating in the elections, the ruling party proposed to expand the powers of the information and security service, arguing that it was fighting electoral corruption.
— I think that the authorities will continue to fight the Gagauz people, just as they are fighting the Transnistrian people, and this is fraught. But the most important thing is that on the eve of the parliamentary elections, some of the opposition forces announced the creation of a political bloc for the elections, meaning there is still an opposition that will be nominated for the elections," Alyona Arshinova emphasized.
However, "Action and Solidarity" is likely to win and, above all, at the expense of the votes of the foreign diaspora, as was the case in the presidential elections, Nicole Bodisteanu believes. Nevertheless, given the total support from the European Union, intimidation of the opposition, threats and bribery, anything can be expected, says Bogdan Tsyrdea. As expected, there was no reaction from Brussels regarding the harassment of the opposition in Moldova.
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