The magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice rejected the appeal filed by Nicolai Ceauș, the Ukrainian judge famous for the bribe of 150,000 dollars that he allegedly hid in jars and buried in the garden, to suspend the issued document by the Presidency of Moldova by which he was denied political asylum.

The conclusion was pronounced on Wednesday, August 25, by the Civil, Commercial, and Administrative Litigation College of the Supreme Court of Justice, composed of magistrates – Tamara Chişca-Doneva, Victor Burduh, Nicolae Craiu, Vladimir Timofti, and Anatolie Țurcan.

The specialized panel for examining the actions in administrative contentious of the Civil, Commercial, and Administrative Contentious College of the Supreme Court of Justice claims that the hierarchically inferior courts have correctly concluded about the need to reject the lawsuit filed by Nicolai Ceauș.

The Supreme Court of Justice magistrates motivate their decision by the fact that the Ukrainian judge Nicolai Ceaus submitted a request regarding the granting of political asylum, immediately after he voluntarily surrendered to the state authorities of Moldova.

“The appellate court concludes that the contested administrative act is well-founded, or, referring to the findings and upholding the above rules, it is noted that Nicolai Ceauș did not present credible evidence confirming the persecution by the Ukrainian authorities for his political views or harsh criticism of the Ukrainian government. So, in the sense of granting political asylum, Nicolai Ceauș does not meet the conditions established by art. 27 para. (1) of the Law on asylum in Moldova no. 270 of December 18, 2008, namely the persecution of the person in his country of origin for the socio-political activity and his opinions that do not contradict the principles of democracy or the norms of international law,” the document states.

Another ground for rejecting the application for granting political asylum, according to the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice, also results from the content of point 5 letter. a) of the Regulation on granting political asylum by the President of Moldova approved by decree no. 1506 of October 31, 2003 of the President of Moldova, according to which political asylum is not granted if the person is prosecuted for acts considered crimes in Moldova or is guilty of committing acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations (UN).

“The court of appeal notes that, during the court hearings, it was proved with certainty that regarding Nicolai Ceauș on the territory of Ukraine, an arrest warrant was issued with his announcement in search of committing the crime of corruption, and in Moldova regarding it was ordered to start the criminal investigation based on the elements regarding the composition of the crime provided by art. 362 of the Criminal Code, ie the crossing of the state border of Moldova, by evading or evading the control performed upon its crossing,” the document states.

On April 3, 2021, it was found out about the abduction of Ceauș in Moldova.

Iulian Balan, the lawyer of the Ukrainian judge Nicolai Ceauș, famous for the bribe of 150 thousand dollars that he would have hidden in jars and would have buried in the garden, announced on Saturday, April 3, in a live on Facebook, that the magistrate was abducted in Chișinău by an armed group of people.

The Parliament Formed a Commission to Investigate the Kidnap of the Ukrainian Judge

On April 5, President Maia Sandu came up with a message on Facebook about the abduction of the Ukrainian magistrate, in which she mentioned that “it is inadmissible for people to disappear in Moldova” and called for immediate action by the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Intelligence and Security Service to clarify this disappearance.

The Judge Famous for a 150,000 Dollars Bribe Was Kidnaped

Also on April 5, the Intelligence and Security Service issued a statement stating that the institution denies any involvement in the abduction of Ukrainian judge Nicolai Ceauș. The statement issued by the Intelligence and Security Service states that the information received in connection with the incident is being monitored and is cooperating with the law enforcement bodies in order to clarify all the circumstances.

Meanwhile, abducted in Chișinău on April 3 by an armed group of people, he appeared in two videos posted on a Telegram channel in which he stated that “he is afraid for his life and that of his family and announced that he has prepared several letters for his friends and evidence regarding those who abducted him in 2016.”

On March 10, the Supreme Court of Justice rejected the request of Nicolai Ceauș to suspended the act issued by the Moldovan President on October 12, 2017, which denied him political asylum until the examination of the appeal.

In March 2017, the magistrate voluntarily presented himself at the Police Inspectorate of the Buiucani sector, declaring that he had illegally crossed the Moldovan border.

Ukrainian Judge Nicolai Ceauș has come under the scrutiny of criminal prosecution bodies in Kyiv after allegedly taking a bribe of 150,000 dollars in August 2016 to rule in favor of a defendant.

Due to his immunity as a judge, he could not be detained immediately. In September, the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv agreed to arrest him and bring him before the law. It’s just that the Ukrainian authorities couldn’t find him anymore.

The judge, known for examining several cases involving Euromaidan participants, was detained in Chișinău on March 1, 2017. The magistrate volunteered at the Buiucani Police Inspectorate, declaring that he had illegally crossed the state border. In Chișinău, he applied for political asylum, but on October 12, 2017, he was refused.