Amid the reports concerning recent scandalous development in ex-judge Chaus case, the watch group ‘Rukh Oporu Kapitulyatsii’ issued the statement arguing that ‘abduction in Moldova is a serious crime committed by the Ukrainian authorities ‘.

The watchdog group accuses Ukrainian government officials of several crimes including:

• kidnapping,
• illegal border crossing,
• excess of authority,
• non-compliance with the court decision,
• illegal detention by the secret service.

Calling Chaus a ‘hostage’ of ‘thugs in uniforms’, the watchdog group called for punishment to all involved in the scandal.

‘Intelligence officers and diplomats could not act on their own initiative. Only Zelensky or the head of his office Yermak could give the order to them.’

The watchdog group stressed that this story discredited the Ukrainian secret services, ‘revived’ in 2014-19.

‘Then, they were defending the country and conducting special operations in enemy-controlled territories to destroy terrorists. Authorities are now forcing them to kidnap people in friendly countries and monitor the opposition.’

The scandal dented the image of the SBU because ‘the Security Service continues to detain Chaus illegally, denying him a lawyer, which indicates that the SBU is trying to cover the tracks of its own crimes’.

In addition,  the statement  draws attention to  Moldova’s reaction that revealed Ukrainian involvement in the abduction. Worsening of Ukrainian-Moldovan relations is obviously beneficial to Russia.

The group blames Ukrainian top officials arguing that ‘the case of Chaus is the destruction of the foundations of law and order in the interests of traitors who seized power in Ukraine’.

The watchdog group claims Chaus to be handed to NABU arguing that ‘the scandal will obviously influence the atmosphere of Ukrainian-American summit’.

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.