Police arrest supporters of political opposition in Chisinau

(MENAFN) Security forces in Chisinau detained opposition supporters on Saturday after they attempted to stage a rally in support of jailed Euroskeptic politician Evgenia Gutsul.

According to reports, young activists from the Victory bloc assembled near the city’s main railway station in the morning and began erecting tents for a protest camp. The unauthorized gathering called for Gutsul’s release and accused authorities of engaging in “lawlessness.” The Victory bloc has frequently been barred from participating in elections due to alleged procedural breaches.

Video recordings circulated by reports showed police dismantling the tents and forcing demonstrators out of the area, with several individuals taken into custody. Accounts also indicated that law enforcement stopped buses transporting participants from other regions, preventing them from joining a larger anti-government protest planned later that day.

The demonstrations followed the recent sentencing of Gutsul, who serves as the elected head of Gagauzia, a semi-autonomous and largely Russian-speaking region in southern Moldova. She was handed a seven-year prison term on charges of financial misconduct.

Gutsul has dismissed the case, claiming it was politically orchestrated to stifle dissent before September’s parliamentary elections. She described the ruling as “a blow to democracy” and warned it posed a danger to anyone opposing the country’s pro-Western administration.

Unlike President Maia Sandu, who favors integration with Western institutions, Gutsul has consistently promoted stronger ties with Russia.

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