Moldovan authorities have launched a homicide investigation following the discovery of Oleg Khorzhan, a prominent opposition figure in the breakaway region of Transnistria, dead from a gunshot wound in his residence. Khorzhan, 47, led the Transnistrian Communist Party. The investigation is underway, with police focusing on gathering evidence related to the murder. The timing of the incident and specific details surrounding the crime scene remain undisclosed.
Moldova's Reintegration Policies Bureau has called for an independent inquiry into Khorzhan's death, suggesting the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) oversee the process. The bureau condemned the violence and offered condolences to Khorzhan's family. This incident follows Khorzhan's 2018 arrest and subsequent imprisonment for allegedly assaulting a law enforcement officer in Tiraspol, an incident that occurred after he led a public demonstration. His party contested the charges, labeling them politically motivated.
Transnistria, a region with a population of approximately 470,000, is situated between the Dniester River and Moldova's border with Ukraine. Following a brief civil war in the early 1990s, pro-Russian factions declared the region independent, a status largely unrecognized internationally. Russia maintains a military presence of around 1,500 troops in Transnistria, designated as peacekeepers. In March, Transnistrian authorities reported thwarting an alleged assassination attempt against their president, Vadim Krasnoselsky, accusing Ukraine's security service of involvement. Ukraine denied the accusation, calling it a Kremlin-fabricated provocation. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moldova has repeatedly accused Moscow of destabilizing efforts targeting the country, which gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and became a candidate for European Union membership last year.
