The Kremlin tried to send a package to Gagauzia's native Evghenia Guțul to prison. Chisinau explains the refusal
The Kremlin, through the authorized ambassador of Russia in the Republic of Moldova, tried to send a package to the penitentiary for the head of Gagauzia, Evghenia Guțul. The refusal of the National Administration of Penitentiaries (ANP) was qualified by the Russian side as a political one, an accusation rejected by the institution, which emphasizes that it acted according to the law.
Evghenia Guțul was convicted last year by the Chisinau court. PHOTO: Facebook.com
The officials of the Russian Embassy in the Republic of Moldova pointed out, in a message published on the Telegram channel, that Oleg Ozerov, the ambassador-at-large, tried to send a package to the Baskan of Gagauzia on April 30, which contained “food, literature and a message from” this one. But they received refusal, one that would have “political connotations”.
“Under these conditions, the Embassy publishes the message independently, hoping that it will be heard and reach the recipient through public attention”it is stated in the message of the diplomatic mission.
On the other hand, the representatives of the National Administration of Penitentiaries mentioned that the refusal to receive the shipped package “is based on legal grounds, expressly provided for in the Execution Code”.
“According to art. 211 para. (1), the convicted person is allowed to receive only one parcel per week. The convicted person Guțul EA already benefited from this right during the reference period, so receiving an additional parcel has no legal basis, regardless of the sender's identity. The administration firmly rejects any insinuation regarding a “political motivation”. The refusal is exclusively procedural in nature and applies equally to all convicted persons”. the ANP employees detailed for “Adevărul”.
He also wants meetings in prison
Previously, Oleg Ozerov, the appointed ambassador of Russia in the Republic of Moldova, requested a meeting with the head of Gagauzia, Evghenia Guțul, in the penitentiary, but the representatives of the National Administration of Penitentiaries rejected the request.
At the same time, in March of this year, Renato Usatîi, the leader of the Our Party formation from the neighboring country, stated that the two Moldovan spies who recently returned home following an exchange that targeted Alexandru Bălan, former deputy director of the Intelligence and Security Service (SIS) who allegedly spied for the Belarusian KGB, would be in custody in Russia, and Chisinau would have negotiated their release, including by releasing the Bascana of Gagauzia.
Asked if the negotiations regarding the exchange targeted Evghenia Guțul at the request of the Russians, the head of the Intelligence and Security Service, Alexandru Musteata, replied that the discussions with the FSB began last summer, but did not include the Basque woman.
The last word of the Bascan of Gagauzia, Evghenia Guțul, before the sentence: Cancel the charges. Pro-Russian Igor Dodon defends her
“What I can tell you for sure is that Guțul was not on the negotiating table. It was not proposed by us or them. So Guțul was not a name on the negotiating table,” added the head of SIS during a PRO TV show from Chisinau.
Sentenced in 2025
The mayor of Gagauzia, Evghenia Guțul, was sentenced in August last year to seven years in prison, being handcuffed in the courtroom immediately after the sentencing. At the same time, almost 41 million Moldovan lei were confiscated from him. Together with her, the secretary of the former Șor formation, Svetlana Popan, was sentenced, who received a six-year prison sentence, and the confiscation of approximately 10 million Moldovan lei was also ordered.
Sentences were handed down for “knowingly accepting the financing of the electoral competitor and the political party by an organized criminal group”and according to the evidence of the prosecution ,,Evghenia Guțul, during the period 2019–2022, working as a secretary in the Department of Monitoring, Planning and Control of the former “Sor” Political Party (declared unconstitutional by Constitutional Court Decision no. 10 of 19.06.2023 and struck off from the State Register of Legal Entities on 23.01.2024), would have been active involved in the activity of systematically introducing unaccounted financial means into the Republic of Moldova, originating from an organized criminal group, predominantly from the Russian Federation, by making air and land flights (round trip in 24 hours), which would later be integrated into the party's activity, in order to support its activity in the political arena of the Republic of Moldova. On another charge, Evghenia Guțul, as an accomplice, between September 2022 and November 2022, would have coordinated the activity of some territorial offices of the former Political Party “Şor” in the districts of the Republic of Moldova, being responsible for checking, confirming the lists and remunerating the participants in the protests organized by the Political Party “Şor” in front of the public institutions in the municipality of Chisinau (Parliament, Government, Presidency, Prosecutor's Office General, etc.), thus knowingly accepting the financing of the political party by an organized criminal group, in the total amount of 40,905,637 lei”.
In the case of Svetlana Popan, the prosecution emphasized that “she was in charge of the Territorial Office in the municipality of Chisinau between September 2022 and November 2022. She would have knowingly accepted the financing of the political party from the organized criminal group, in the total amount of 9,748,425 lei, financial means intended to pay for the protests organized by the political party, the payment of the unaccounted salaries (in envelopes) of the members of the territorial offices, etc.”
Evghenia Guțul also appears in a criminal case initiated for violations related to the electoral campaign for her election to the position of mayor of Gagauzia in 2023. She denies the accusations.
