Moldova has called on Israel to extradite pro-Russian politician Ilan Sor, who has been hiding in Israel. Sor, the leader of the opposition pro-Russian party that has been destabilizing Chișinău with anti-government protests for over a year, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for financial crimes on April 14, 2023.

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According to Moldova’s Minister of Justice, Veronica Mihailov-Moraru, Moldovan authorities are expecting the extradition request for Sor to be considered urgently. “Even if Israel does not extradite Sor to us, we expect him to serve his sentence in that country,” Mihailov-Moraru said.

She noted that 36-year-old Ilan Sor, who fled from Moldova during an investigation against him in 2019, is a citizen of Israel.

In March of this year, Moldova’s Constitutional Court announced that it would examine the legality of Sor’s pro-Russian party’s operations in the country. A decision on this matter is expected no later than the end of May.

Dorin Recean’s government claims that Sor’s party operates “against the principles of the rule of law and threatens the sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Moldova.”

In October, the Washington Post reported, citing sources in Ukrainian and Western intelligence services, that Sor’s opposition party deliberately organized blockades in Chișinău to destabilize Moldova. The newspaper wrote that the founder of the party, Ilan Sor, is a presumed agent of the Russian FSB.