Guțul’s Lawyers Are Preparing an International Lawsuit.
Several dozen people gathered outside the Chișinău Court of Appeal. Relatives, associates, and supporters of Governor of Gagauzia Evghenia Guțul and activist Svetlana Popan came to support the two women, whose case is being reviewed today by the appellate court. Many were holding placards, and some women brought flowers.
Defendants Again Absent from the Courtroom
But the main figures in today’s hearing never made it into the courtroom. Evghenia Guțul and Svetlana Popan have been in custody for several months. Today’s hearing was supposed to determine how lawful that decision had been.
However, despite repeated requests from the defense, the defendants were once again not brought to court. They are taking part in the proceedings by video link from their places of detention. Filming in the courtroom is prohibited, so journalists are recording events based on participants’ accounts.
French Lawyer Arrives in Moldova
Among those representing the Governor today is French lawyer William Joly. He flew to Moldova specifically to take part in the proceedings in person. Even so, he was unable to see his client face to face.
“The court is 15 minutes from here,” Joly said before the hearing began. “Evghenia Guțul poses no flight risk during transport. I assume that in this country, as everywhere else, there is police. And she is a woman who is 1 meter 50 centimeters tall. I do not think she is going to attack the guards transporting her from prison to court.”
Defense Sees a Political Process
Joly is working together with Spanish lawyer Gonzalo Boye, who had previously come to Moldova. Both men share the same view of what is happening: from the very beginning, the process has followed a script in which the defense has been reduced to the role of an extra.
According to the French lawyer, the defense had already filed motions in the court of first instance for a financial expert examination, for witness questioning, and for a review of the preventive measure. Not one of them was granted.
Moreover, as Joly stressed, the judges did not trouble themselves to explain the reasons for their refusals. In his words, the same pattern is now repeating itself on appeal.
“No Grounds Other Than Political Pressure”
The defense is especially baffled by the very fact of detention. The women did not try to hide and did not violate the terms of their previous house arrest. The lawyers say they see no logical explanation for why they are behind bars.
“There are no grounds other than political pressure,” William Joly said.
Because these arguments are finding no response in Chișinău, the defense has gone to Strasbourg. They recently filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. Joly made it clear that this is not the final step, but only one stage.
“If the decision does not satisfy us, we will continue the fight at another level the international one,” he said, leaving room for further action.
Defense Challenges the Evidence
Inside the courtroom, the lawyers continue to insist that the prosecution’s case is unsound. Sergiu Moraru, Joly’s colleague, pointed to what he described as the absurdity of some of the “evidence.”
For example, the verdict relied on the testimony of a journalist who had never personally known Guțul and knew of her only through the media. The defense says it cannot understand how such testimony could be used to prove guilt.
Supporters Call the Case Repression
While the lawyers work inside the courtroom, people outside are describing the case not as a legal dispute, but as a political trial. Mihail Vlah, one of the Governor’s associates, struck a defiant tone.
He recalled that international lawyers have described what is happening as a nonsense, and he drew comparisons that raise troubling questions about the state of justice in the country.
“They bring criminals and murderers into the courtroom, but not the lawfully elected Governor,” Vlah said. “This is a disgrace for the current authorities… We will demand that the Governor of Gagauzia return to her family and home.”
His words also conveyed a deeper concern. He sees the arrest of the head of the autonomy as an attack on the status of Gagauzia itself. In Vlah’s view, the authorities are trying not only to isolate one politician, but to decapitate the autonomy and cast doubt on its very existence.
Those gathered outside the courthouse responded with applause. Many had come with children perhaps so they could see that the women now sitting in detention cells have not been forgotten.
Case May Move to the International Level
The hearing at the Court of Appeal is still ongoing. There is no live broadcast, and filming is prohibited. The outcome of the hearing remains unclear, but the defense strategy is already obvious: if the national judicial system proves impermeable to its arguments, the case will move to the international level.
