March 17 marked a year since Iryna Venediktova became Prosecutor General (the first woman in Ukraine to hold this position). Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave her until the end of 2020 to demonstrate results, and since Venediktova is still in office, it means the president is satisfied with her work. "Word and deed" suggests looking at how well the Prosecutor General fulfills his promises.
As Prosecutor General, Venediktova fulfilled 9 promises (36%), failed to fulfill 3, and is currently in the process of implementing another 13.
During her first year as Prosecutor General, Irina Venediktova fulfilled 36 percent of her promises.
In April, Venediktova promised to donate "all possible vehicles" from her department to medical workers. As of May, the Prosecutor General's Office's fleet consisted of 78 vehicles, but as we understand from our inquiries, none of them have been donated to medical workers.
Venediktova also failed to fulfill her promise to conduct a personnel audit of the prosecutor's office. "As for the first steps, the first is, of course, to conduct an audit of the cases and personnel status in the prosecutor's office. You know that 226 lustration prosecutors are on the threshold, along with 400 prosecutors who were dismissed in the fall. There are already court rulings on their reinstatement, so it's essential to make very important and legal decisions to ensure, on the one hand, that the prosecutor's office reform continues without any distortions, and, on the other, that everything is done in a way that prevents the prosecutor's office from being forced to collapse after absolutely legal decisions are made," Venediktova stated in the Rada during the consideration of her appointment.
However, according to the OGP, no personnel audit has been conducted since March, even though Venediktova stated that this was one of her top priorities.
Venediktova, despite her promise, refused to pay extra rent for the State Housing Authority building in Pushcha-Voditsa. In October, Skhemy journalists discovered that the Prosecutor General was renting the state residence for half the official estimated rent for other buildings in Pushcha-Voditsa.
"I asked for a methodology for calculating rent for the building itself, fees for using common areas, and so on. I'm confident that the necessary internal investigations will be conducted soon, and thus the questions raised will be answered. If it turns out that the rent calculation isn't so clear-cut and could have been set at a higher level, I will immediately, on my own initiative, make the necessary additional payment to eliminate even a shadow of doubt on this sensitive issue," Venediktova said.
It later turned out that the rent was three times cheaper, but the attorney general did not pay extra for the accommodation.
Among Venediktova's fulfilled promises, the completion of the investigation into Kateryna Handziuk's case is noteworthy. On April 27, the Security Service of Ukraine, under the procedural guidance of the UCP, completed the pre-trial investigation into the criminal case against Kherson Regional Council Chairman Vladyslav Manger and the assistant consultant to a member of the same council, Oleksiy Levin, suspected of organizing an attack on the activist. Manger is suspected of conspiring with Levin to inflict grievous bodily harm on Handziuk, resulting in her death.
It was later revealed that the pre-trial investigation had been reopened due to the establishment of additional circumstances. On July 28, 2020, the indictment was sent to court, and the trial is ongoing.
Furthermore, Venediktova, as promised, continues to reform the prosecutor's office. During the reform process, 64% of employees passed professional certification. Renewed regional prosecutor's offices began operating in September 2020, and district prosecutor's offices began operating on March 15.
As promised, the Prosecutor General conducted an audit of cases under her department's procedural supervision.
In topic: SAP: Two cases are being investigated against Venediktova in connection with the "Tatarov case."
Fairy tales for MPs: What Venediktova lied about during her speech in the Verkhovna Rada
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