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Human rights groups are urging Ukrainian authorities to end what they call “ongoing and escalating judicial harassment” of Vitaliy Shabunin, founder and chair of the Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC) and a serving sergeant in the 43rd Separate Mechanized Brigade.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OMCT/FIDH) has summarized charges, court orders, and procedural complaints against Shabunin since July.
“Politically motivated crackdowns on anti-corruption activists are taking place in Ukraine… How long will this disgrace continue?” asked Tetiana Pechonchyk, a member of the supervisory board at Right to Protection, a leading Ukrainian human rights organization.
On July 15, the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) brought Shabunin before the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv on allegations of “evading military service” and “fraud,” covering a period when he was seconded to the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NACP) by his command.
Judge Svitlana Grechana barred him from leaving his unit’s deployment area except for duty, disclosed the village where he is stationed, ordered him to surrender his foreign passport, and prohibited contact with NACP officials, a former commander, and servicemen from his 2022 unit.
SBI agents searched addresses tied to Shabunin while he was on active duty in Chuhuiv district, Kharkiv region, on July 11. During a separate home search in Kyiv, his lawyers were absent, and family devices—including children’s tablets—were seized.
Shabunin claimed an officer took his unlocked phone for a counterintelligence check; it was later “found” but not returned. Sensitive personal data from his wife’s confiscated phone, including details of a temporary U.S. refuge in 2022–2023, was then leaked and distorted through Telegram channels. OMCT/FIDH called the searches warrantless and the leaks unlawful.
The SBI completed its investigation in August, handing the materials to prosecutors. Once the defense has reviewed the case, prosecutors plan to submit the indictment to court. If convicted, Shabunin could face up to 10 years in prison.
His lawyer, Olena Shcherban, reported attempts to strip her license over alleged training lapses but retained it after submitting responses. AntAC described the probe as “biased and politically motivated.”
Earlier this year, more than 70 Ukrainian and international NGOs condemned the case as “a textbook example of either gross incompetence or a deliberate attempt to silence a vocal government critic,” noting that a donated vehicle cited in allegations had been approved by the donor.
The Shabunin case comes amid broader disputes over Ukraine’s anti-corruption system.
In July, the government initially blocked the appointment of Oleksandr Tsyvinskyi to lead the Bureau of Economic Security because of his father’s Russian citizenship, prompting protests. Authorities later went ahead with his appointment on August 6.
Separate legislation affecting NABU and SAPO sparked mass demonstrations and drew international criticism. Authorities later pledged to restore the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies.
