ISTANBUL

Moldova on Tuesday sentenced the governor of the country’s autonomous Gagauzia region to seven years in prison over channeling money from Russia to a banned political party.

A court in the capital Chisinau ruled that Evghenia Gutul channeled funds from Russia to the pro-Russian Shor party, which was banned in Moldova in 2023, between 2019 and 2022, according to the Moldovan state news agency Moldpres.

“The act meets the elements of the crime,” Ana Cucerescu, a Chisinau court judge, was quoted as saying by the agency, noting that the sentence given to Gutul is not final and can be taken to an appeals court.

Svetlana Popan, a former secretary of the Shor party's central office, was also sentenced to six years in prison, the news agency said, adding that Gutul and Popan will serve their sentences in a semi-closed penitentiary.

“This decision has nothing to do with justice. This is a political reprisal, planned and executed on orders from above,” Gutul wrote on Telegram following the verdict, adding that she will appeal the decision to higher authorities and “achieve justice.”

“I do not recognize this farce and will fight for my name, for my honor and for the truth,” she said, accusing Moldova’s ruling Party of Action and Solidarity, as well as President Maia Sandu, of using “repression as a tool to combat dissent.”

The Kremlin blasted the ruling as "an example of a politically motivated decision" and an attempt to pressure political opponents as the country prepares for a parliamentary election on Sept. 28.

The ruling comes after Moldova’s president accused Russia late last month of planning to interfere in the upcoming parliamentary elections, claiming Moscow “aims to control Moldova,” a former Soviet republic that borders war-torn Ukraine.

Russia denied the allegations, stating it “does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.”

Sandu’s Party of Action and Solidarity, which holds a majority in parliament, is expected to face a unified opposition bloc formed by four parties in the Sept. 28 vote.

Gagauzia is an autonomous region in Moldova with a population of approximately 120,000 Gagauz people – an Orthodox Christian, Turkic community that speaks Gagauz Turkish.

Gutul, who was a member of the Shor party, won the regional governor’s race in Gagauzia in May 2023.

She was detained at Chisinau International Airport this March over the case and the following month placed under house arrest for 30 days.