Earlier on Tuesday, the district court of Chisinau handed Gutsul a seven year prison term for allegedly financing the proscribed "Shor" party, with the sentence to take effect immediately. Her defense counsel has announced plans to appeal the verdict to the Chisinau Appeals Court within 15 days.
“What the Chisinau regime under Sandu, using the judiciary, has done today is not just a monstrous and cynical act of political repression against a popularly elected politician from Gagauzia. It’s also a manifestation of the savage, medieval nature of certain individuals, with specific names, who have been supported by the West,” Matvienko wrote on her Telegram channel.
The Federation Council Chair added that the Moldovan authorities calmly accepted the decision not only to complicate the political fate of a person who is hindering their consolidation of power in Moldova, but also to “put a woman, with two small children, in prison for many years.”
“And this unprecedented act of inhumanity is supported by Europe. There is no doubt about it,” the politician concluded.