"Shabunin under suspicion - pressure and political persecution for criticising authorities": Holos, EU, Transparency International and media representatives speak out in defence of head of Anti-Corruption Action Centre
The day before, the SBI served a notice of suspicion to Vitalii Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre. Representatives of political forces, journalists and NGOs defended him, noting that the suspicion was an attempt to exert political pressure on the activist.
This was reported by Censor.NET.
In particular, members of the Voice party defended Shabunin.
Thus, members of the GOLOS parliamentary faction call on the authorities to stop the illegal actions of law enforcement agencies and provide public explanations of the situation around the pressure on Shabunin and his family.
"According to open sources, the searches are carried out without a court order, which contradicts the criminal procedure legislation, which does not provide for searches and seizure of any items before the information about the criminal offence is entered into the URPTI.
In view of this, members of the GOLOS parliamentary faction state that in this case, law enforcement officers may be used by the authorities for political reprisals, and such actions are absolutely unacceptable. The politically motivated use of law enforcement agencies is unacceptable for a democratic country," the statement reads.
"The use of law enforcement agencies to exert pressure on political opponents of the authorities is becoming systematic. And this is many times more dangerous at a time when the enemy is doing everything to split society, and opponents among the EU members are criticising Ukraine, trying to disrupt the accession procedure," said Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, a member of the GOLOS parliamentary faction.
The European Solidarity political party also spoke out, demanding a reboot of the SBI.
"The serving of a notice of suspicion and searches in the house of Vitalii Shabunin, a public activist and serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, is another shameful case among others, the purpose of which is to silence everyone, intimidate them, and force them to keep silent about corruption and abuse of power, authoritarian tendencies and the rollback of reforms... The EU expresses its solidarity and support for Shabunin and his family, because there is only one thing behind the fabricated case - revenge for criticising the authorities. We have not always agreed with Vitalii's position, he has often criticised our team without any grounds, but what the SBI is doing now is a political reprisal against critics of the authorities," the statement said.
The editorial board of ZN.UA also defended Shabunin.
"The SBI searches of the head of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, Vitalii Shabunin, and the notification of suspicion to him is a marker event. It clearly outlines the line of behaviour of the authorities before and after the attack on the Bureau of Economic Security. After all, the BES was the first to be cynically rejected by the government, in violation of the law, when Oleksandr Tsyvinsky, who had been elected in a transparent competition, was the first to be suspended. Shabunin was the second.
Yes, there are questions to Vitalii Shabunin. Yes, he can be too categorical and emotionally harsh. Not everyone likes his style of work, just as not everyone can show the results of their work to the public.
But at the same time, we should not forget that everything Vitalii Shabunin did was not aimed at enriching himself. This is evident from his lifestyle, family and principles. His activities were always aimed at the benefit of society. If he made any mistakes, they were in the fight for those he did not even know. Not for "his own".
That is why everything that is happening today around the competition for the head of the BES, around Shabunin (and it is no coincidence that these events are unfolding in parallel) is not about the BES or Shabunin. It is about the long-standing, deeply hidden desire of several changes of corrupt and unprofessional authorities to deal with those who could not be destroyed before only because of the existing external support. That support was Washington. It was the basis for promoting freedom of speech, the rule of law, the fight against corruption, transparent elections, building effective institutions and equality before the law.
Unfortunately, both the story of the Bureau of Economic Security and the unprecedented situation with searches of Vitalii Shabunin without a court order cannot be attributed to the "excesses of the executor". Because every day, when Shabunin was in his unit, officers were ordered to take photos of him "at work" and send them to Bankova Street. It was about him that President Zelenskyy raised the issue at the Staff.
Without direct pressure from Zelenskyy, SSU Head Vasyl Maliuk would never have signed the unjustified letter to the selection board regarding Oleksandr Tsyvinskyi. But it was this letter that became the basis for the position of the Cabinet of Ministers, which voted for the completely arbitrary decision to cancel the results of the competition. This anti-democratic fish rots from the head.
While Russia is gnawing away at our villages, the government is gnawing away at rights and freedoms throughout the rest of the country - and thus the prospect of Ukraine not being Russia," the media statement reads.
Journalist Natalia Sedletska also criticised the SBI
"The prosecution of Shabunin is a simultaneous intersection of the most dangerous practices for society. They are inherent in Russia, but not in the Ukraine the nation is fighting for. Is there any doubt that this is revenge for criticising the authorities and selective justice? Anyone who has been following the work of the SBI for a long time knows that there is no question of independence in making such politically sensitive decisions. And the head of the SBI was literally elected on Bankova Street. I think the outcome of this story will mean a lot for Ukraine's prospects of not becoming Russia. I support Vitaliy and his family," the journalist writes.
Transparency International Ukraine also reacted
According to the organisation, the Ukrainian community has witnessed blatant actions of law enforcement against the head of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, Vitalii Shabunin. On the day when civil society representatives spoke about Ukraine's capacity for reform and progress at the International Conference on Reconstruction, pressure on the civil society sector is being exerted at home.
"In the context of recent events - in particular, the refusal of the Cabinet of Ministers to appoint the head of the Bureau of Economic Security and the active investigative actions of the NABU and the SAPO in the case of a senior government official - a natural question arises as to what signal the Ukrainian government is sending to society and international partners.
It is hard not to see that these actions are aimed at demonstrating political control over part of the law enforcement system in response to the independent work of the reformed anti-corruption institutions and the support they receive from civil society.
Those who are not afraid to speak out, who stand up for the principles of transparency and accountability, who demand real change, should not be silenced. Their voices are critically important for a country that has been at war for 12 years.
Putting pressure on civil society and activists is a direct attack on the values that we all defend in the fight against the enemy. Our future lies in democracy and the rule of law, and today we have not seen them in the actions of law enforcement," the organisation said in a statement.
As a reminder, Zelenskyy's critic Shabunin was notified of suspicion of evading military service and fraud.
Earlier it was reported that the State Bureau of Investigation is conducting a search of the head of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre Vitalii Shabunin at his place of service in Chuhuiv district, Kharkiv region, and at home.
As reported, the head of the AntAC said that MPs from the Servant of the People faction had registered draft law No. 13271-1, which would allow officials to avoid punishment for corruption after dismissal. They plan to vote on it next week.
He also reported that on 3 June 2025, a regular meeting of the Verkhovna Rada was held, during which the Servant of the People faction supported a number of scandalous bills.
In February 2025, Shabunin announced that he was being transferred from Kyiv to Kharkiv region. He attributed this to his criticism of the government.
