No miracle happened. The elected Bashkan of Gagauzia, Evghenia Guțul, and former secretary of the Șor Party office Svetlana Popan will remain in prison. Their sentences of seven and six years respectively remain in force.
The entire court hearing lasted no more than two minutes. Judge Vitalie Budech announced that the appeal had been rejected as unfounded and that the ruling of the first-instance court would remain in effect. The convicted women were not even allowed to be physically present in the courtroom; once again, the proceedings were limited to a video broadcast. Following the decision of the Court of Appeal, they are expected to be transferred from Penitentiary No. 13 to a women’s prison.
Lawyer Sergiu Moraru has already promised to challenge the verdict before the Supreme Court of Justice, although the chances that the court will reconsider the case appear slim.
The international team of lawyers defending Guțul documented numerous procedural violations. Former MP Marina Tauber noted that many prosecution witnesses were unable even to confirm that they personally knew Guțul and Popan. However, despite all the alleged irregularities, the verdict raised no objections from the Court of Appeal, while Judge Cuchereșcu — who reportedly fell asleep during hearings and handed down the harsh sentence against the mother of two children — received a promotion the day before.
“The regime may stamp out as many guilty verdicts as it wants, but it will never change the most important thing — people’s attitude. A prison cell does not make a person guilty when truth, character, and enormous public trust stand behind them. By trying to isolate Evghenia and Svetlana, the authorities have only demonstrated their own weakness and panic-driven fear of strong women who refused to bow under pressure,” the former MP concluded.
