CHISINAU, July 11. /TASS/. Moldovan President Maia Sandu and her Party of Action and Solidarity are holding Gagauz autonomy’s head Evghenia Gutsul under house arrest to bar her from taking part in the parliamentary elections on September 28, Ilan Sor, the leader of the Victory opposition bloc, said, commenting on the court ruling to extend Gutsul’s arrest.

He recalled that during the recent conference, the bloc decided that its party list at the upcoming elections will be topped by Gutsul.

"Evghenia Gutsul’s house arrest has been extended. The judges keep on churning out their decisions under the pressure from the Party of Action and Solidarity. The only reason for such actions is to keep the strong politician in custody ahead of the elections," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

Sandu, in his words, is reluctant to acknowledge that during the nationwide referendum on Moldova’s accession to the European Union 95% of Gagauz residents voted against amending the country’s constitution for the sake of the European integration. "She did not understand this when she garnered only 3% in the autonomy. And now she wants to ‘consolidate’ the success. Well, her party will score less than zero votes at the parliamentary elections. And not only in Gagauzia," he warned.

On Thursday, a Chisinau court extended Gutsul’s house arrest for 30 more days from July 13. Gutusul’s lawyer, Natalia Bairam, told TASS that she will challenge this ruling with the Court of Appeal. According to the lawyer, the judge was exposed to pressure when during the court session a letter from the chief of the Security and Intelligence Service was handed over to her.

Gutsul was detained at Chisinau’s airport on March 25 and later was arrested as part of a criminal case related to the financing of her election campaign in 2023. Along with this, court hearings have been proceeding since 2024 on another case where Gutsul is charged with illegally financing an opposition party. However, she categorically rejects these charges, saying that the case is politically motivated.

Gutsul’s relations with the Moldovan leadership became strained in 2023 after she won elections in the autonomy and proclaimed a course toward closer relations with Russia, criticizing Chisinau’s policy of confrontation with Moscow. Moldovan authorities tried to recognized the election in Gagauzia invalid, but the Gagauz parliament sided with Gutsul. Apart from that, a series of grass-roots 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.