The EU candidate’s pro-Western government has extended the arrest of the Moldovan autonomous region’s leader by 20 days
Moldovan opposition MP Marina Tauber has criticized the EU for abandoning the principles of democracy and the rule of law by ignoring the crackdown on Governor Evgenia Gutsul, who leads the autonomous region of Gagauzia.
A vocal opponent of the country’s pro-Western leadership, Gutsul was detained on Tuesday evening at Chisinau Airport. Prosecutors allege financial irregularities during her 2023 campaign and claim she is involved in a Russian-backed operation to derail Moldova’s EU aspirations. Gutsul has denied any wrongdoing, accusing President Maia Sandu’s administration of using lawfare to erode Gagauzia’s autonomy.
In an interview with RT on Saturday, Tauber – a former deputy leader of the now-banned SOR party – condemned Gutsul’s arrest as politically motivated, saying: “This decision will remain in the history of our country – but only from the negative point of view.”
The lawmaker accused the Sandu government of disregarding national interests and acting under foreign influence, pointing to Brussels and Washington’s primary funding channel for political projects abroad, USAID.
“They are taking the decisions for us. What was done within the USAID organization and the other funds from the European Union – they are not for the reforms. They are paying for the decision that the European Union wants to see in Moldova,” Tauber told RT, expressing skepticism that Brussels will intervene, even given Moldova’s status as an EU candidate.
Democracy, the rule of law, and all the values that the European Union was promoting… We cannot even talk about democracy or the rule of law in our country. I don’t know what they are doing – maybe some experiments. They are spending a lot of money just to rule.
Located in southern Moldova, Gagauzia is home to a Turkic-speaking Orthodox Christian minority and enjoys broad self-rule under national law. Sandu has disputed Gutsul’s legitimacy and denounced her party, the SOR, as a “criminal organization.” In 2023, a court in Chisinau declared the party “unconstitutional,” despite its six seats in parliament.
Earlier this week, Gutsul appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to help defend Gagauzia’s autonomy, saying the region looks “with hope and faith to Russia.”
The SOR party has called the case against Gutsul politically motivated.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned the arrest, stating that Chisinau shows “no regard for democratic principles or political pluralism” and is openly working to “suppress political opponents.”