Law enforcement knock priest to ground throughout anti-LGBT demonstration

(MENAFN) Police in Moldova’s capital, Chisinau, used force against participants during an anti-LGBTQ protest, with footage showing an Orthodox priest being knocked to the ground and a man holding a child being roughly handled and detained. The clashes erupted after LGBTQ activists held an unsanctioned march through the city center, carrying rainbow flags and blocking traffic. Despite a heavy police presence, the march was not stopped initially.

Violence broke out when a counter-protest by Orthodox Christians bearing icons and crosses tried to breach police lines separating them from the LGBTQ demonstrators. Videos from the scene show officers forcefully pushing an Orthodox priest to the ground and roughly detaining men carrying young children, one nearly dropping a child during the altercation.

Several individuals were arrested, and tensions eventually eased as anti-LGBTQ protesters began singing prayers. Opposition leader Natalya Paraska condemned the police actions as “shocking,” accusing authorities of prioritizing President Maia Sandu’s pro-Western agenda over protecting Christian family values.

Moldova, seeking closer ties with the EU and NATO under Sandu’s leadership, has seen rising domestic criticism of her pro-Western policies. Religious tensions also persist between the Moscow-affiliated Moldovan Orthodox Church and the Romanian-backed Metropolis of Bessarabia, with accusations that Sandu’s government pressures the Moscow-linked church to switch allegiance. A recent move to block a pilgrimage by a Moscow-aligned bishop sparked international backlash and criticism from political opponents and the Russian Orthodox Church.

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