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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Member of Parliament from the Servant of the People party Yuriy Kamelchuk, about whose overseas trip with his wife Bihus.Info reported last week, in an effort to deny the illegality of his trip published a series of statements and “evidence.” Thus, in his social media posts the MP hinted that he was in Strasbourg on the World Forum for Democracy on a business trip, attaching “evidence” to his post. However, journalists established that these “evidences” are manipulative and do not in any way confirm the legality of his trip abroad. In particular, Kamelchuk posted old photos from other trips and, in general, on the days of the Forum the deputy was physically in Kyiv.
This is stated in the Bihus.Info report.
Last week, journalists showed that at the beginning of November, despite an official ban by members of Parliament from traveling abroad without official grounds, Kamelchuk, together with his wife, visited several European cities—Lisbon, Cascais, and Amsterdam. The couple actively filmed the trip and published it on social media.
In the comments to Bihus.Info, Kamelchuk first explained the trip as “parliamentary work,” then as a “vacation,” and then as the “needs of his wife’s health.”
After the story was published, the MP posted a series of emotional stories on social media, in which he stated, among other things, that there was a political order. Kamelchuk also published a post in which he tried to explain the legality of his trip. In it he hinted that he allegedly went on a business trip to the World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg.
Journalists checked the documents and photos published by Kamelchuk. Yes, the “invitation” to the Forum turned out to be a fragment of a general document where Kamelchuk’s surname is mentioned, but it proves nothing. The message in the Messenger, too, in no way proves an official business trip by the MP.
Journalists also analyzed the official program of the World Forum for Democracy and the list of all speakers—Kamelchuk’s surname was not among them.
The photos that Kamelchuk added to the post also do not confirm his presence in Strasbourg 5–7 in mid-November. After all, they were taken, as journalists suggest, at a completely different time. For example, during the October PACE meeting, where he was present with his wife.
Another photo with Chechen activist Fatima, which the MP published, was taken in April. This is evidenced by old posts of Suleymanova on social networks, in which she poses in the same outfit.
Moreover, the deputy could not have been present at the official part of the World Forum for Democracy, since he was in Kyiv at a Verkhovna Rada meeting on those same days.
Even theoretically the deputy could have ended up in Strasbourg only 7 in November, but the official program of the Forum ran until 12:45— and this also makes his participation questionable.
Given the manipulative nature of the “evidence” published by Kamelchuk as a refutation of the illegality of his trip abroad, Bihus.Info has contacted the leadership of the Verkhovna Rada, the Servant of the People faction, the VRU regulatory committee, and the State Bureau of Investigation.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "“Слуга” Камельчук вчергове зманіпулював, намагаючись видати подорож Європою за парламентське відрядження". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Bihus.Info.
