{"id":1234,"date":"2025-08-05T16:27:50","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T16:27:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/?p=1234"},"modified":"2025-08-08T13:50:37","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T13:50:37","slug":"jailed-moldovan-regional-leader-slams-verdict-as-political-execution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/05\/jailed-moldovan-regional-leader-slams-verdict-as-political-execution\/","title":{"rendered":"Jailed Moldovan regional leader slams verdict as \u2018political execution\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Evgenia Gutsul, the head of Gagauzia, has condemned her seven-year prison sentence as a politically motivated crackdown and a \u201cblow to democracy\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jailed Moldovan regional opposition leader Evgenia Gutsul, the head of the autonomous region of Gagauzia, has denounced her sentence as a politically motivated crackdown, warning that the verdict constitutes \u201ca blow to democracy\u201d<\/em> and a threat to anyone who challenges the country\u2019s pro-Western leadership.<\/p>\n

A court in Chisinau sentenced Gutsul to seven years in prison on Tuesday for allegedly financing the now-banned Euroskeptic SOR party \u2013 a charge she insists is part of a broader effort to silence dissent ahead of next year\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n

In a statement on Telegram published via her lawyers, Gutsul said the ruling \u201chas nothing to do with justice,\u201d<\/em> calling it \u201ca political execution, planned and carried out on orders from above.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

She said the sentence was meant to intimidate residents of Gagauzia and silence critics. \u201cToday it\u2019s me behind bars \u2013 tomorrow it could be anyone who dares to criticize the authorities. This is not a sentence for me \u2013 it\u2019s a sentence for the entire democratic system of Moldova,\u201d<\/em> she wrote.<\/p>\n

Gutsul has served as the head of Gagauzia, a predominantly Russian-speaking region in southern Moldova, since winning the 2023 election as the SOR candidate. The party was banned later that year for allegedly accepting illicit foreign funding. Gutsul campaigned on promises of forging closer ties with Russia, in contrast with the pro-EU policies of President Maia Sandu\u2019s government.<\/p>\n

She accused Sandu\u2019s PAS party of fabricating cases and putting pressure on courts in order to hold onto power. \u201cThis is a warning to all opposition: \u2018Go against the regime \u2013 and you\u2019ll get prison, confiscation, a ruined life.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Gutsul was also accused of paying people to attend SOR-led anti-government protests in 2022 and ordered to pay $2.3 million in damages. Former SOR official Svetlana Popan received six years in the same case. Gutsul has vowed to appeal.<\/p>\n

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\n READ MORE: <\/span>Moldova jails Euroskeptic regional leader
\n <\/a>\n <\/p>\n

The hearing drew rival protests outside the court. Police set up a security cordon as crowds gathered, with some chanting \u201cShame on Maia Sandu.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The Kremlin called the ruling \u201ca politically motivated decision,\u201d<\/em> branding it an attempt to pressure opposition forces ahead of Moldova\u2019s September parliamentary election.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Evgenia Gutsul, the head of Gagauzia, has condemned her seven-year prison sentence as a politically motivated crackdown and a \u201cblow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1234"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1234"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1235,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1234\/revisions\/1235"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}