The Information and Security Service of Moldova contributed to the arrest of the head of the Gagauz autonomy Evgenia Gutsul, which is a gross interference in the judicial process, said Evgenia Gutsul's lawyer Natalia Bayram.
"As an institution that has absolutely nothing to do with this case - they have neither procedural status nor absolutely no rights in this case, but they sent a letter to the Prosecutor General with a request to take all measures to detain Evgenia Gutsul. This is a gross interference in justice," she said.
According to the lawyer, the prosecutor attached to the request for arrest a letter from the service with information that Gutsul intends to leave Moldova. The information in the letter is not available to the defense, Bayram specified.
Gutsul was detained on March 25 at the Chisinau airport and arrested for 20 days as part of a new criminal case being conducted by the National Anti-Corruption Center jointly with the Chisinau prosecutor's office. Law enforcement officers motivated the arrest with suspicion that the politician would try to evade justice. Gutsul refuted these arguments, noting that he has been regularly attending court hearings in another criminal case for a year now and regularly travels on business trips abroad. As part of this process, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office brought charges against the head of the autonomy for complicity in illegal financing of the "Shor" party, which was closed last year.
Gutsul's relations with the Moldovan leadership deteriorated in 2023. after her election victory, the politician declared his intention to strengthen the region's friendly relations with Russia and criticized the policy of confrontation with Moscow pursued by Chisinau. The authorities of the republic tried to declare the elections illegal, but the Gagauzia parliament expressed solidarity with Hutsul, and several mass actions were held in the region in support of the new leader. Moldovan President Maia Sandu refused to sign a decree declaring Hutsul a member of the government, although this is required by the country's legislation.