According to the information published on the CSJ page, the criminal case involving Dorin Damir has been assigned to a panel of judges, who are to rule on the appeal filed by the prosecutors.

The Central Court of Appeal acquitted Dorin Damir at the beginning of June, after it officially annulled the sentence of the Chisinau Court from December 2022 and issued a new decision.

According to the accusation, in June 2021, Damir allegedly tried to persuade the founder of the company “Proimobil”, Vladislav Musteață, to withdraw his claims and change his procedural position in a criminal case. The prosecutors maintained that the messages would have been transmitted through a lawyer and would have contained veiled threats.

Dorin Damir denied the accusations throughout the trial, stating that he does not personally know Vladislav Musteață and that he had no meetings with him. In turn, his lawyers challenged the evidence presented by the prosecution and demanded acquittal.

Currently, Dorin Damir is serving a three-year prison sentence in another case, which targets the fictitious hirings at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

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According to the information published on the CSJ page, the appeal was registered on July 27. The case was assigned to a panel of judges, who are to examine the appeal and decide on the request made by the lawyers.

Evghenia Gutul and Svetlana Popan were convicted on August 5, 2025, for complicity in the illegal financing of a political party and an electoral competitor. Prosecutors claim that the deeds took place between 2019-2022, when Gutul was the secretary of the Sor Party, declared unconstitutional in 2023.

Guțul has rejected the accusations, asserting that she committed no illegalities and that, at the time of the alleged acts, she held a position without decision-making power in the party. She described the sentence as being “harsh” and stated that the case would have a political component.

At the end of May, the Central Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Chisinau Court, Buiucani headquarters.

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Judge Ana Cucerescu is known for examining several high-profile criminal cases, among which is the one where the governor of Gagauzia, Evghenia Gutul, was convicted. Also, the judge was part of the panel led by Sergiu Stratan, the newly appointed judge at the Supreme Court of Justice, who convicted Vlad Plahotniuc in the “Bank Fraud” case.

According to the decree, Elena Croitor, Gheorghe Stratulat and Alexandru Negru have also been appointed as judges of the Supreme Court of Justice.

Alexandru Negru has also examined several high-profile cases. He is the reporting judge in the “Black Bag” case, being temporarily detached to the Supreme Court of Justice. He was also part of the panel that examined the case in which the former deputy Irina Lozovan was convicted, the “Paid Parking” case, targeting the former mayor of Chisinau, Dorin Chirtoaca, as well as cases related to the “Bank Fraud” file.

The new judges will begin their activity with the entry into force of the decree, namely on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

The act can be contested at the Chisinau Court, Rascani headquarters, within 30 days from the date of communication, in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Code.

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The request is to be examined by the Supreme Court of Justice, the only competent authority to decide whether the trial will continue at the same court or will be transferred to another court. Representatives of “Eurasia” have requested the relocation on the grounds that they do not trust the impartiality of the judges of the court examining the case.

The final pleadings were supposed to begin at Friday’s meeting, after the judicial investigation was concluded. However, with the submission of the transfer request, the examination of the case was suspended.

This is not the first time the case review has been interrupted. Previously, the trial was put on hold after representatives of the “Eurasia” organization raised a constitutional exception, challenging several provisions of the Law on Combating Extremist Activity and the Law on the Information and Security Service, invoked by SIS in the trial. The Constitutional Court later declared the referral inadmissible, and the case was returned to the court for further examination. At the same time, representatives of “Eurasia” also requested the recusal of the entire panel of judges, but the motion was rejected.

At the initiation of the trial process, SIS did not provide details, but “Eurasia” is targeted in a report by the institution about external interference in the 2024 electoral processes. The document indicates that foreign influence on the Republic of Moldova was exerted through “platforms, influence agents and typical tools of a hybrid interference”, among which the “Eurasia” entity, the “Victory” Bloc and the organized criminal group “Șor”, supported by individuals under international sanctions and in search.

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According to the CSM, the selection was conducted in accordance with legal provisions, evaluating the professional portfolios of the candidates, their accumulated experience, integrity and the results obtained in the competition.

Ana Cucerescu works at the Chisinau Court and has over 14 years of experience in the judicial system. The magistrate is known for examining high-profile cases. She was part of the panel that examined the bank fraud case, in which Vlad Plahotniuc was convicted, as well as the case involving the illegal financing of the former Shor party, in which the governor of Gagauzia, Evghenia Gutul, was convicted.

Elena Croitor is a Doctor of Law and has been active in recent years in the field of justice and judicial system reform. Between 2021 and 2025, she held the positions of Principal Legal Consultant and Senior Legal Advisor within the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative Moldova. Previously, she was the Principal Consultant at the Ministry of Justice, worked at the Institute of Penal Reforms, and coordinated projects in the field of juvenile justice. Additionally, for over 14 years, she taught at the Law Faculty of the State University of Moldova.

According to the legislation, the Supreme Court of Justice is composed of 20 judges. In February 2023, several magistrates from the CSJ left the system, and experts explained these chain resignations by the launch of the process of verifying the integrity of judges. In March, nine judge positions remained vacant at the supreme court.

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According to Ilie Chirtoaca, after receiving the report of the External Evaluation Commission, the SCP has two options: either it accepts the Commission’s conclusion and determines the promotion or non-promotion of the prosecutor, or it rejects the report and orders a reassessment only once. If after reassessment, the Commission maintains its conclusion of non-promotion, and the SCP does not agree with the repeated report, the Council can reject the report and independently determine the promotion of the prosecutor. In this case, the prosecutor remains in office, but the SCP’s decision is not final if it is contested.

The President of the SCM clarifies that the SCP’s decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court of Justice within 15 days from the pronouncement of the decision. The right to appeal is held by both the evaluated prosecutor and the External Evaluation Commission, if they disagree with the solution adopted by the Council. Therefore, the filing of the appeal suspends the execution of the SCP’s decision. The Supreme Court examines the case and can reject the appeal, in which case the SCP’s decision remains valid, or it can admit the appeal and order the resumption of the evaluation procedure by the Commission or by the Council.

Ilie Chirtoaca clarifies that, if after resuming the procedure the SCP adopts the same solution again, and the decision is repeatedly contested, the Supreme Court of Justice has the final say. At this stage, the court can definitively determine the promotion or non-promotion of the evaluated prosecutor.

On the other hand, the president of CRJM points out that the formulation of a separate opinion by a CSP member does not change the outcome of the decision. The opinion is attached to the decision adopted by the majority and explains the reasons why the respective member did not agree with the final solution.

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As a result, Evghenia Gutul automatically loses her mandate as Bashkan of Gagauzia, without the need for any further administrative or political procedure.

The loss of the mandate is provided for both by national legislation and by the normative acts of the Gagauz autonomy. Under the Law on the Status of Persons Holding Public Dignity Offices, the mandate ends before term in the event of a final criminal conviction.

At the same time, the Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia stipulates that the Bashkan’s powers end before term in the event of a criminal offence.

The Regulations of Gagauzia also provide that the governor’s mandate ends in the event of an objective impossibility to exercise the office, including in the case of serving a prison sentence.

Under the legal provisions, the duties of Bashkan are to be performed on an interim basis by the First Deputy Chairperson of the Executive Committee in Comrat. At the same time, the regional authorities are required to organise early elections for the office of governor of Gagauzia within no more than 90 days from the moment the position becomes vacant.

Contacted by IPN for clarifications regarding the termination of the mandate and possible elections for the office of Bashkan, representatives of the Central Electoral Commission did not answer the phone.

Evghenia Gutul’s defence announced that it would challenge the Court of Appeal’s decision before the Supreme Court of Justice.

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“We will challenge this decision at the Supreme Court of Justice and we will exhaust all domestic remedies provided by law to demonstrate that the decisions adopted are clearly illegal, and that Ms. Gutul is not guilty”, said Sergiu Moraru after the decision was pronounced.

The defense attorney claims that Evghenia Gutul is “a political prisoner” and accused the authorities of using this case to instill fear in society and to create the perception that any connection with the former Shor party is illegal.

The Central Court of Appeal upheld the first instance decision on Thursday, by which Bashkana Evghenia Gutul and Svetlana Popan were sentenced on August 5, 2025 to seven and six years in prison, respectively.

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At the beginning of the month, the Central Electoral Commission decided to exclude Victor Perțu from the elections, citing his active involvement in the activities of the former Sor Party, declared unconstitutional.

Subsequently, the Orhei Court overturned the CEC decision, however, the North Court of Appeal upheld the appeal of the electoral authority and maintained the exclusion of the candidate from the election.

Representatives of the Home Democracy Party have characterized the decision as a political one.

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The PDA leader, Vasile Costiuc, stated that the decision has a political character and emphasized that the CEC’s decision, in which the party was labeled as a “hidden electoral block”, is not based on any legal grounds. According to him, Orhei risks being led by a politically appointed mayor, not one elected through free and fair voting.

At the beginning of May, the Home Democracy Party’s candidate for the mayor of Orhei city was excluded from the electoral race. The decision was made by the Central Electoral Commission, which found his active involvement in the activities of the former Șor party. On May 7, the Orhei Court overturned the CEC’s decision, and the electoral authority appealed to the appellate court.

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