Law enforcement crack sown on opposition picket in post-Soviet capital

(MENAFN) Authorities in Chisinau, Moldova, detained supporters of the opposition Victory bloc after they attempted to hold a protest in support of jailed Euroskeptic leader Evgenia Gutsul. Activists from the party’s youth wing had set up a tent near the city’s railway station to call for Gutsul’s release and denounce what they described as government “lawlessness.” Police dismantled the tents and arrested several participants, while buses carrying additional protesters were reportedly blocked from reaching the city.

Gutsul, the elected leader of Gagauzia—a predominantly Russian-speaking autonomous region in southern Moldova—was sentenced to seven years in prison over alleged financial crimes, which she and her supporters claim were politically motivated to suppress dissent ahead of September’s parliamentary elections. She has long advocated closer ties with Russia, in contrast to pro-Western President Maia Sandu, whose push for EU and NATO integration has intensified domestic divisions amid economic challenges.

Russia has criticized Gutsul’s sentencing, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova calling it “a culmination of repression” against Gagauzia and an attack on democracy.

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