On Jan. 20, Iryna Venedyktova, acting head of the State Investigation Bureau, appointed Oleksandr Babikov, ex-President Viktor Yanukovych’s former defense lawyer, as the first deputy head of the bureau.
The appointment has triggered a backlash from civil society, since the State Investigation Bureau is investigating cases against Yanukovych and his associates as part of investigations into about 100 murders and other violent crimes against protesters during the EuroMaidan Revolution, which ousted Yanukovych in February 2014.
Venedyktova has also been accused of choosing Babikov as a result of a non-transparent and rigged competition.
She has denied the accusations of wrongdoing.
The competition for Babikov’s job was announced on Dec. 29, and candidates had only three days to file applications.
Babikov filed an application to terminate his status as a lawyer on Dec. 28, triggering suspicions that he knew about the competition beforehand and that it was rigged in his favor.
The lawyers and families of EuroMaidan protesters and the EuroOptimist liberal political group argue that Babikov’s appointment is a blatant violation of conflict of interest rules.
“We believe this will destroy the investigations and in the worst case scenario will result in the persecution of the victims,” the families and lawyers of EuroMaidan protesters said in a statement. “We believe that this is a step towards the complete loss of confidence in the State Investigation Bureau.”
Venedyktova denied a conflict of interest in a video address, saying that Babikov would not oversee EuroMaidan cases.
“I announce, in order to make sure that society is sure about our objectivity, that the EuroMaidan cases unit will be overseen exclusively by the head of the bureau,” she said. “We have done everything to avoid a conflict of interest.”
Venedyktova also lashed out at her critics, accusing them of “manipulation” and organizing a “well-planned and well-funded effort to influence public opinion.”
Yevhenia Zakrevska, a lawyer for EuroMaidan protesters, dismissed Venedyktova’s explanations, saying that Babikov would still automatically become the acting chief of the bureau whenever Venedyktova is on vacation or resigns and would thus oversee EuroMaidan cases.
Oleksandr Babikov, first deputy head of the State Investigation Bureau.
As Yanukovych’s lawyer, Babikov represented the former president in a case into the murder of about 100 protesters, as well as in usurpation of power case and a case into violations during the adoption of the so-called “dictatorship laws” of Jan. 16, 2014. The laws greatly cracked down on civil liberties during the EuroMaidan Revolution.
Babikov was also a prosecutor from 1996 until 2017.
Meanwhile, Oleksandr Sokolov, a former police officer and security official, became another deputy to Venedyktova.
Previously Venedytktova also triggered criticism for appointing Oleksandr Buryak, a controversial former prosecutor, as the top investigator at the State Investigation Bureau in charge of EuroMaidan cases on Jan. 2.
The lawyers and families of EuroMaidan demonstrators urged Venedyktova to cancel Buryak’s appointment and hold a transparent competition for the job.
Buryak, a former deputy of ex-State Investigation Bureau Chief Roman Truba, was appointed to the bureau in 2017 in a selection process that civic activists claim was rigged. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Buryak is among the officials featured in alleged audio recordings implicating judges on the Kyiv Administrative District Court, including its head Pavlo Vovk, in various wrongdoings. The recordings were released in July, and in August the judges were charged with obstructing justice and issuing unlawful rulings.
In the recordings, persons alleged to be Buryak and Vovk discussed interfering in a State Investigation Bureau commission’s decision not to hire Yevheny Ablov, a judge on Vovk’s court, as a State Investigation Bureau official. Specifically, they discuss influencing the Kyiv Administrative District Court judge who was considering canceling the decision and threatening the judge with a criminal case if he did not agree.
Vovk said that Truba’s deputies Buryak and Olga Varchenko also supported hiring Ablov.
