Five others were also convicted, including Riccardi’s Moldovan girlfriend, who received six years, and his twin brother, who was sentenced to eight months.

They were fearful of impending Moldovan independence from the Soviet Union and a possible reunification with Romania that would make them an even smaller minority.

Based in the town of Orhei near Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, her company, Mar Alb, makes clothes and bags inspired by Moldovan traditional costumes.