CHISINAU, July 3. /TASS/. The verdict in the case of Gagauz leader Evghenia Gutsul and political activist Svetlana Popan will be handed down at a session on August 5, judge Ana Cucerescu said following closing arguments and final pleas, a TASS correspondent reported from a courtroom.

"The court will make a decision on the case of Gagauz head Evghenia Gutsul and Sveltana Popan on August 5, at 12:00," Cucerescu said.

In her final plea, Gutsul said that she had never broken any laws and asked for acquittal.

"I do not admit any guilt, I have not been involved in anything contradicting Moldova’s laws. Never in my life have I broken any laws, whether it’s the administrative or the criminal code. The prosecution has not submitted any evidence of my guilt because it does not exist! This is inhumane and illegal, I am a mother of two minors, the older one will turn 16, the younger one is only three. I am asking to satisfy our plea and annul this case," Gutsul said.

Gutsul was detained at Chisinau Airport on March 25 under a criminal case related to the funding of her election campaign in 2023. The arrest was explained by fears that she could flee justice. Gutsul, however, rejected this, cooperated fully with the investigation and attended all court sessions. She insists that her arrest was orchestrated by Moldova’s ruling Party of Action and Solidarity. Last year, she was sanctioned by the European Union and the United States.

Gutsul’s relations with the Moldovan leadership became strained in 2023 after she won elections in the Gagauz Autonomy and proclaimed a course toward closer relations with Russia, criticizing Chisinau’s policy of confrontation with Moscow. Moldovan authorities tried to declare the election in Gagauzia invalid, but the Gagauz parliament sided with Gutsul. Apart from that, a series of grassroots rallies were held in her support. However, Moldovan President Maia Sandu refused to sign a document approving Gutsul as a government member, which is required to be done under the country’s laws.