A court in Moldova has placed the country’s former president, Igor Dodon, under house arrest for 30 days as he faces investigation on suspicion of treason, corruption, illicit enrichment and illegal party financing.
Moldova has been a staunch supporter of kyiv since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine. The arrest of pro-Russian Dodon comes at a time when relations between Moscow and Chisinau are increasingly tense.
Dodon, who served as Moldova’s president from 2016 to 2020 and leads the Eastern European country’s pro-Russian opposition bloc, was detained at his home in the capital of Chisinau by investigators on Tuesday.
The former president claimed that the charges against him were politically motivated and were being implemented at the behest of foreign powers. He told reporters that the judge was carrying out a “political order” from pro-Western President Maia Sandu, who succeeded him in 2020.
One of the poorest countries in Europe, Moldova is a former Soviet republic that gained independence in 1991. Russia maintains troops in the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria, also known as Transdniestria, a disputed Russian-backed breakaway state that borders the southwestern Ukraine.
In recent months, Russian separatists in the breakaway region have blamed Ukraine for heavy shootings, explosions and drone strikes, raising fears that Moldova could be drawn into the conflict in Ukraine.
The Kremlin said earlier that it was concerned about reports that Dodon had been detained. Spokesman Dimitri Peskov asked the Moldovan authorities to respect his rights.
Associated Press/OnCuba.
