A court in Chișinău has ordered a 20-day imprisonment for Evghenia Guțul, the governor of the Moldovan region of Gagauzia, according to Russian news agencies TASS and RIA Nowosti. Initially, Moldovan TV8 and Newsmaker reported that Guțul had been placed under pretrial detention for 30 days, but later corrected their publications. Judge Serghei Ciobanu delivered the verdict, stating: “The request for a 20-day pretrial detention for Evghenia Guțul is partially granted.”
The prosecution had requested a 10-day longer detention than the court ordered. Guțul’s lawyer, Sergiu Moraru, told reporters that his client had not violated any regulations and that the prosecution had no right to request the detention. The defense intends to appeal the court’s decision.
Guțul was arrested on March 25 at the Chișinău airport as part of a procedure regarding the misuse of electoral funds for the 2023 elections in the autonomy, illegal financing of the political party Șor for the elections and forgery of documents. Guțul denies all the accusations and describes the case as fabricated and the indictment as politically motivated. She reacted to the court’s decision, saying: “Gagauzia has been beheaded today.”
After the verdict, she was led out of the courtroom. Chișinău does not recognize the results of the 2023 election for the head of Gagauzia, which Guțul had won. Moldovan President Maia Sandu referred to her as “a person who is a member of a criminal group and does not act in the interest of the Moldovan people” and “giving statements against her own country.”
TV8 and Newsmaker published materials about Guțul’s 30-day detention before the court had made a decision in this matter, as reported by TASS. The hearing on Guțul’s preventive measure began around 9:00 a.m. local time (8:00 a.m. MEZ) and lasted more than seven hours.
After her arrest, Guțul appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling on him to “utilize the entire arsenal of diplomatic, political and legal mechanisms to exert pressure on the Moldovan authorities” and “to end the political repression immediately.” The Kremlin described her persecution as politically motivated.