The Chisinau Court, Ciocana branch, has extended Gagauzia Governor Eugenia Gutsul’s house arrest by another 30 days. Judges upheld the prosecutors’ request during a hearing on June 11. Gutsul’s lawyer, Sergiu Moraru, confirmed the decision for IPN and called it unlawful, announcing plans to appeal it at the Court of Appeal.
Authorities detained Gutsul on March 25 at Chisinau International Airport. She faces charges in two separate criminal cases. In the first, prosecutors accuse her of mismanaging electoral funds, accepting illegal financing, and submitting false declarations during her campaign for Governor of Gagauzia. In the second, law enforcement alleges that Gutsul, along with the secretary of the former Shor Party’s central office, helped illegally finance both the party and a rival candidate, acting on behalf of an organized criminal group.
On April 9, the Chisinau District Court placed Gutsul under house arrest after ordering her release from solitary confinement. Since then, the court has extended the measure multiple times.
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Gutsul denies all allegations. Her legal team maintains that she committed no crimes and claims the case is politically motivated.