The Moldovan government brought the criminal case against Gagauzian Turks leader Evghenia Gutul to court. Prosecutors said in a statement on Wednesday, April 24 that the criminal case filed against Gutul, President of Gagauzia, an autonomous region of Moldova, has been sent to court. Gutul is accused of transferring funds from Russia between 2019 and 2022 to finance the now banned “Shor” party, founded by businessman Ilan Shor.
GUTUL DOES NOT GIVE UP
Gagauzia President Gutul described the case as fabricated in his statement. Gutul: “A fabricated criminal case against me was presented to the court. "The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office is fighting against those who, under the influence of Sandu rather than corruption, make life better in their country, work for the benefit of the people and oppose the destructive actions of the government," he said.
Gutul stated that he was not the first person against whom the government filed a false penalty and said, “I have already stated that I am ready for criminal prosecution, because we predicted these steps of Sandu and we have known all the tricks of the authorities for a long time. The authorities, who can only blackmail and threaten, are so afraid of real actions that they persecute everyone whose work is not limited to promises. "I will not give up my fight for my people," he said.
Gutul had previously been accused of bribing voters during the 2023 local elections and denied these accusations.
USA REPORT
The United States Department of State's annual report on human rights in Moldova was recently published. The report stated that corruption remains widespread in Moldova and that laws continue to be applied in a discriminatory manner by the judiciary.
The report, which reviews human rights practices such as individual, civil, political and labor rights annually, revealed that the Moldovan government has taken some steps to combat corruption, but these have mostly failed.
The report stated that judicial independence poses a significant problem with corruption and the characterization of "selective justice", where laws are not applied equally to everyone and are often applied selectively for political reasons.
“The selective nature of justice remains a problem. "Some prominent politicians detained during the year claimed that selective justice was applied and their right to a fair trial was violated," it said.
