Yevgenia Gutsul escorted by police after a court hearing in Chisinau, March 28, 2025.
On March 25, Evgenia Gutsul, the elected leader of Gagauzia, was detained at Chisinau International Airport while attempting to leave Moldova. A court later ordered her to remain in custody for 20 days.
Officially, the charges relate to alleged illegal campaign financing tied to the Sor Party and an organized criminal group. But while legal justifications were cited, the move immediately raised red flags about political motivations behind the arrest.
This incident sets a significant and troubling precedent:
never before has an elected leader of an autonomous region in Moldova been taken into custody. Unlike President Maia Sandu - whose reelection last year remains controversial and debated in Moldovan society - Gutsul secured a clear and commanding win in Gagauzia. Her arrest reads less like a legal procedure and more like a strategic attempt to intimidate dissenting voices, especially as Chisinau ramps up its drive toward European integration.
Still, the confrontation wasn't exactly unexpected. For months, Sandu's administration has shown growing discomfort with Gutsul's visibility and political outreach, which extended beyond regional issues and increasingly captured national attention. Viewed in context, her arrest seems like part of a broader power struggle playing out at the highest levels of Moldovan politics.
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