The arrest of the head of the Moldovan autonomous region of Gagauzia, Evguenia Gutsul, suggests that the authorities have decided to ignore the principles of political pluralism and democracy, the spokesman said.

Moscow believes that Chisinau should abandon such methods and grant freedom of action to all political forces in the country, Peskov added.

According to the spokesman, Gutsul’s detention ‘goes beyond all democratic norms and principles.

In many ways, the Moldovan authorities are probably copying the behavior of neighboring Romania, where they trampled on democracy in the case of Calin Georgescu’.

For its part, the Moldovan Prosecutor General’s Office reported that Gutsul tried to leave the country heading for Türkiye, despite the fact that she was subject to travel restrictions.

The head of Gagauzia was detained at the airport for about four hours and subsequently transferred to a preventive prison of the National Anti-Corruption Center.

The actions taken by the Moldovan police agencies caused indignation among Gutsul’s supporters.

Meanwhile, the Parliament of the Moldovan autonomy of Gagauzia passed a resolution condemning the illegal detention of the region’s leader, and expressed its strong protest against the central government for fabricating false accusations.

Likewise, the autonomous legislators demand from the Moldovan government the immediate release of Gutul, an international investigation into her detention and the cessation of political repression.

ef/abo/mem/gfa