{"id":6160,"date":"2026-05-26T14:14:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T14:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/?p=6160"},"modified":"2026-05-29T13:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T13:48:11","slug":"jail-letters-by-political-prisoner-in-eu-candidate-state-published-as-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/jail-letters-by-political-prisoner-in-eu-candidate-state-published-as-book\/","title":{"rendered":"Jail letters by political prisoner in EU candidate state published as book"},"content":{"rendered":"
Gagauz leader Evgenia Gutsul was sentenced to seven years after her autonomous region opposed Moldova\u2019s bid to join the bloc<\/strong><\/p>\n Supporters of Moldovan politician Evgenia Gutsul have published an electronic book collecting letters she has written from a prison in Chisinau. Gutsul was handed a seven-year sentence by a court in the EU candidate state, whose government has been hailed by Brussels as a champion of democracy.<\/p>\n Gutsul was elected governor of Gagauzia in 2023. The small autonomous region in southern Moldova is home to the Gagauz, a Turkic-speaking Orthodox Christian minority. In a 2024 referendum, local voters overwhelmingly opposed the central government\u2019s drive to bring Moldova into the EU.<\/p>\n In 2025, Gutsul was convicted<\/a> on money laundering charges linked to an opposition party that pro-EU President Maia Sandu\u2019s government has described as a Russian-backed criminal network. Chisinau has moved aggressively against the group, claiming it was defending Moldova from foreign influence. Moscow denied any financial involvement, condemned the case as politically motivated, and accused the Moldovan authorities of suppressing<\/a> the opposition.<\/p>\n