The court began hearing concerning the measure of restraint for Chaus in the afternoon of August 4. The hearing lasted for more than nine hours and was in camera. Both prosecutors and lawyers requested this. Chaus’s lawyer Rostyslav Kravets told the journalists that he would request the case to be considered in a closed sesion. According to him, there are classified materials in the case.

Chaus’s lawyers tried to challenge the judge, but the court refused.

The court decided on round-the-clock house arrest for two weeks, until August 18.

Chaus must wear an electronic bracelet.

Earlier, Kravets claimed that his client had been tortured. He was allegedly chained to the bed for 50 days.

Backstory

Ex-judge Chaus, who had been kidnapped in Moldova, was unexpectedly found in Vinnytsia region on July 30. The lawyers could not find a client and talk to him for three days.

The judge was to be detained by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau officers. However, the judge was intercepted by the Security Service. Details in the ‘Bukvy’ article.

Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the head of the President’s office, said that ‘this story has nothing to do with the President’s office’.

On August 2, MP Geo Leros claimed that President Zelensky had met with Chaus.

Serhii Nykyforov, a President’s spokesperson, denies Zelensky’s meeting with the ex-judge.

Who is Chaus?

Mykola Chaus is an ex-judge of the Dniprovskyi District Court of Kyiv, known for making decisions against Avtomaidan. He was subject to lustration, but was not lustrated.

On August 9, 2016, the National Anticorruption Bureau detectives caught Chaus on a $ 150,000 bribe. However, the judge was not detained because, according to the Constitution, he had judicial immunity.

On November 28, 2017, the High Council of Justice dismissed Chaus from the position of a judge. In October, Interpol declared Chaus wanted.

He was found in Moldova. On July 11, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the Moldovan government to facilitate the extradition of Mykola Chaus.

Chaus kidnapping

On April 3, Chaus’s lawyer, Yulian Balan, said that a group of unidentified armed persons had abducted his client. Moldovan President Maia Sandu reacted to this.

A video was released showing the moment of the abduction. Subsequently, the Moldovan media, citing ‘Index’ Telegram channel, stated that Chaus had been taken to Ukraine in a Toyota RAV 4, which allegedly belonged to the Ukrainian embassy.

Later, the same channel reported that the military attaché of the embassy Serhii Smetaniuk was allegedly driving the Toyota RAV 4.