Poroshenko's party demands Rada set up commission to probe Presidential Office's meddling in law enforcement's work
The Ukrainian opposition party European Solidarity led by former President Petro Poroshenko has demanded starting a criminal inquiry against former chief of the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) Roman Truba.
"The investigation of the so-called Truba's tapes recorded at the office of the SBI's ex-chief is an essential condition of the SBI's clearance. It is obvious from them that the SBI is not meant to protect the law but is used for political reprisals against the opposition. We have still not seen any response from the law enforcement system to this information. The systemic violation of laws and the constitution must be punished not just by dismissing the SBI chief but by holding him and other individuals present in Truba's tapes criminally liable," European Solidarity said in a statement on Friday.
Truba was dismissed in violation of the constitution, considering that the Constitutional Court ruled on December 16, 2019 that the president cannot appoint the SBI leadership, as the SBI's and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau's (NABU) subordination to the president jeopardizes their independence, European Solidarity said.
The party stressed that constitutional violations are unacceptable and called on President Volodymyr Zelensky and the parliamentary majority "to bring the law regulating the SBI operations in line with the constitution" before new reshuffles in this institution.
Zelensky dismissed Truba as SBI director on December 27 and appointed Iryna Venediktova its acting chief.
A Telegram channel published the above-mentioned audio tapes on November 19 suggesting that Truba received instructions from Prosecutor General Ruslan Riaboshapka and chief of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Andriy Bohdan to suspend a number of searches and was informed of President Zelensky's order that he open certain criminal cases.
Truba himself said the audio records were not authentic and described the situation as an act of provocation.
European Solidarity demanded that the Verkhovna Rada set up an ad hoc investigative commission to probe the Presidential Office's unlawful interference in law enforcement agencies' work. The party also demanded that the people heard on the tapes, including Bohdan, his deputy Andriy Smyrnov, and Riaboshapka, be dismissed.