The head of the autonomous region of Gagauzia, Yevgenia Gutsul, has been sentenced to seven years after being accused of illegally financing the banned Euroskeptic SOR party
A Moldovan court has sentenced Yevgenia Gutsul, the leader of the autonomous region of Gagauzia, to seven years in prison on charges of illegal financing of a political party. Gutsul has denied the accusations, calling the case politically motivated. She has also been ordered to pay 40 million Moldovan lei ($2.3 million) to the state.
Gutsul has been charged with receiving illegal campaign funds from an organized criminal group and funneling funds to the Euroskeptic SOR party, which was banned in 2023.
Svetlana Popan, former secretary in the SOR Central Office, was sentenced to six years in prison in the same case. The sentences can be appealed. Commenting on the verdict, Sergiu Moraru, Gutsul’s lawyer, said “this is not a trial, but a public execution… I can’t say that there is evidence there, there is fiction.”
Gutsul has served as the head of Gagauzia, an autonomous and predominantly Russian-speaking region in southern Moldova, since winning the 2023 election as the SOR candidate. The party was banned the same year on allegations of illicit financing from abroad. Gutsul campaigned on promises of closer ties with Russia, in contrast with the pro-Western stance of the government of President Maia Sandu.
August 05, 2025 at 03:02PM
RT