In recent months, the Shor party has staged several anti-government protests in the capital Chisinau and in other cities around the country. The party accuses President Maia Sandu of high electricity bills and of trying to drag the country into the Ukraine war.
The authorities, in turn, claim that the protests are part of a Russian plan to overthrow the government and replace it with a pro-Moscow government.
The court has concluded that the party is not constitutional.
“This is a decision society has been waiting for because Moldovans appreciate and want to live in a democratic state governed by the law,” writes Sandu on Facebook.
The party’s five members may remain in parliament as non-party members.
According to the party’s lawyer, the verdict will be appealed to the European Court of Justice.
Before a protest critical of the regime in March, members of a network were arrested by Moldovan police – suspected of trying to destabilize Moldova with the support of Russia.
Ilan Shor, who fled to Israel in 2019, was sentenced in April to 15 years in prison for, among other things, money laundering and fraud.