Leader of Moldova's Gagauzia region Yevgenia Gutsul (Eugenia Gutul) speaks during a press conference in Moscow, Russia, April 22, 2024. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo
CHISINAU (Reuters) -A Moldovan court sentenced pro-Kremlin regional leader Evgenia Gutul on Tuesday to seven years in jail for channelling money from Russia to finance a political party.
Gutul, who has strongly criticised Moldova's current pro-European government and has occasionally visited Moscow to meet top officials, denied any wrongdoing. She has been placed on the EU and U.S. sanctions lists on suspicion of destabilising Moldova.
Prosecutors say Gutul systematically channelled undeclared funds into Moldova from 2019-2022 to finance the now-banned pro-Moscow "Shor" party set up by Ilan Shor, an exiled pro-Russian businessman who has been convicted of fraud in Moldova.
The prosecutors had been seeking a nine-year jail sentence for Gutul.
The Kremlin condemned the sentence as politically motivated and accused Moldova of trampling on democracy.
More than 100 people gathered in front of the court in the Moldovan capital Chisinau to support Gutul, the leader of Gagauzia, a small autonomous region whose 140,000 residents are mainly ethnic Turks.
The crowd demanded freedom for Gutul, chanting "Shame" and criticising the government.
The sentence can be appealed.
(Reporting by Alexander Tanas, writing by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Gareth Jones)
