site.btaUPDATED Vazrazhdane Slams Detention of Gagauzia's Governor Gutul in Moldova

Addressing the Bulgarian Parliament Thursday, Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov urged the Bulgarian authorities to protect the governor of Moldova's autonomous Gagauzia region, Evghenia Gutul, who was detained by Moldovan authorities a couple of days earlier. Kostadinov argued that Gutul's case merits Bulgaria's protection "since close to half of the population of Gagauzia has Bulgarian citizenship".

Gutul was arrested on March 25, 2025, at Chisinau International Airport as she attempted to depart for Turkiye while being on a travel ban list. She is being tried in Moldova in connection with fraudulent management of electoral funds, illegal financing and forging of documents and declarations on the 2023 elections, according to the Moldpres news agency. The arrest has drawn strong criticism from Russia, with the Kremlin accusing the Cisinau authorities of "dismissing the law, the principles of democracy, the principles of political pluralism" and "exerting undisguised pressure on all political opponents".

In October 2024, the EU imposed sanctions on Gutul and barred her from its territory for promoting separatism in Gagauzia, thereby attempting to overthrow the constitutional order and threatening the sovereignty and independence of Moldova.

Kostadinov continued: "This is not the first time, as another senior Gagauz politician with Bulgarian citizenship, Victor Petrov, has been sanctioned for the second year not to enter the territory of the European Union. That is to say, he cannot enter the territory of Bulgaria either, because Bulgaria, as part of the EU, has banned him from setting foot on its territory."

Kostadinov was adamant that Bulgaria should show support both for Gutul and for Gagauzia, where, in his words, the rights of "our compatriots have been curtailed over the past year". He reported that his party will ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take action to clarify the situation in Moldova, even though Kostadinov was skeptical that such action would follow. He added that his party will also ask the European Commission for an opinion, since the violation of minority rights in the EU is becoming a regular practice.

According to the 2024 census in Moldova, Bulgarians made up 5.4% of the population of Gagauzia.