Police in Moldova detained the leader of the country's pro-Russian Gagauz ethnic minority at Chisinau international airport on Sunday after the unexplained disappearance of two wanted pro-Russian lawmakers, Reuters reported.
Evgenia Gutsul, the bashkan ("head" - ed. note) of Gagauzia, has been detained for 72 hours in the capital, said Angela Starinski of the Moldovan Anti-Corruption Center. "The measure is being taken in the context of a criminal case," Starinski told reporters.
Gagauzia is a region of about 140,000 people in southern Moldova. It is home to a predominantly Turkic-speaking ethnic community that practices Orthodox Christianity and has had tense relations with the central authorities since Moldova became independent in 1991.
Moldova, which for the past 150 years has been part of the Russian Empire, "Greater Romania" and the Soviet Union, is now led by President Maia Sandu, who has pledged to see her country become a member of the European Union by 2030. Sandu has condemned Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine and accused the Kremlin of trying to overthrow her.
Hutsul, a fierce critic of the government, was elected as Bashkan in 2023 with the support of fugitive business tycoon Ilan Shor, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2023 in connection with the disappearance of $1 billion from Moldovan banks. Gutsul, whose election as Gagauzia's Bashkan was never recognized by Sandu, met with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin during a visit to Moscow.
Gutsul is expected to be sentenced soon on charges of corruption and financing a political bloc led by Shor from exile in Russia. She was detained after the unexplained disappearance last week of pro-Russian parliamentarian Alexander Nesterovski on the day he was sentenced to 12 years in prison on similar corruption charges. A second lawmaker, Irina Lozovan, awaiting sentencing on similar charges, also disappeared. Both were associates of Shor, who hopes to use his "Pobeda" bloc to ensure victory for pro-Russian lawmakers in parliamentary elections later this year. Shor is accused by Moldovan authorities of funneling significant sums of money into the country to influence the election.