Irina Venediktova dismissed as Prosecutor General

The Verkhovna Rada has dismissed Irina Venediktova from the post of Prosecutor General of Ukraine, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak reported.

264 parliamentarians supported the dismissal of the Prosecutor General. Venediktova was present at the session of the specialized committee and at the session of the parliament.

Before that, the legislature dismissed the head of the SBU, Ivan Bakanov, although he was not present in the parliament. Earlier, President Zelenskyy proposed to discharge Bakanov and Venediktova.

Venediktova has been in the position of Prosecutor General since March 17, 2020, and before that, from December 2019, she temporarily headed the State Bureau of Investigation.

In Zelenskyy's team, Venediktova was responsible for reforming the judiciary. In July 2019, she entered the Verkhovna Rada on the list of the presidential party Servant of the People as number three.

Background

Zelenskyy removed Irina Venediktova from the duties of the Prosecutor General on July 17. The president explained the decision to remove her due to the large number of criminal cases of treason and collaboration among law enforcement officers, which "poses serious questions to the leaders."

Venediktova said on July 18 that she would refrain from commenting on her suspension, but wrote that she "has something to be proud of in her position."

"As soon as the stage of 'settlement' of the current situation is completed, in a reasonable and understandable way for all parties, I will give a comprehensive comment," she added.

Oleksiy Symonenko, who has held the position of deputy prosecutor general since March 2020, is temporarily performing the duties of the prosecutor general.