"The leader of the Chance party, Alexei Lungu, the representatives of the Pobeda bloc, Yuri Vitnyansky and Vyacheslav Zhukov, the leader of the Revival party, Natalia Paraska, and the mayor of Orhei, Tatyana Cociu, were also subjected to illegal detention and additional searches at the Chisinau International Airport on Saturday," it said in a statement.
Moldovan lawmaker Irina Lozovan told RIA Novosti on Saturday that she and two other delegates to the Pobeda bloc congress in Moscow had been detained at the Chisinau airport for political reasons.
By 00:30 Sunday (21:30 GMT on Saturday), all of the detainees were released. The bloc said that it intended to appeal all cases of detention of its representatives.
On April 21, a congress of Moldovan politicians and public figures supporting Moldova's accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and cooperation with Russia was held in Moscow, where the creation of the Pobeda bloc was announced. In particular, the bloc united the parties Shor, Chance, Victoria, Revival, and the Power of Alternatives and Agreements of Moldova. Subsequently, the United States sanctioned the leadership of the new bloc.
Since May 2022, the opposition in Moldova has been holding protests demanding the resignation of the government and President Maia Sandu. The protesters accuse the country's authorities of failing to cope with the crisis in the economy and energy sector, as well as of pressuring the opposition. As a result of the authorities' actions, opposition party Shor was banned, and representatives of other political formations, including the Socialist, Revival and Chance parties, regularly face searches and detention of their supporters.