MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/. A protest started in Kharkov against the law signed by Vladimir Zelensky, which effectively abolished the independence of the country’s two corruption watchdogs, the Ukrainian news outlet Hromadske reported.
The protesters, who gathered near the University subway station, are chanting "Shame" and "Hands off NABU," referring to one of the agencies by its Ukrainian acronym, and yelling in an obscenities-laden language why they would need a system that works against them. The people plan to reconvene every day until July 31, when the legislature is scheduled to meet for a vote on the bill that Zelensky submitted earlier.
Corruption watchdogs
Zelensky has long tried to gain control over the agencies. On June 23, the bureau filed corruption charges against Alexey Chernyshov, who at the time served as deputy prime minister. Chernyshov is regarded as a very influential figure in Zelensky's inner circle. According to some opposition lawmakers, the corruption watchdogs could soon bring charges against other people close to Zelensky.
On July 21, the Security Service of Ukraine conducted searches in the offices of the bureau’s staff and also inspected the prosecutor’s office. On July 22, the legislature, where the majority of seats is controlled by Zelensky’s party, passed a bill aiming to strip the watchdogs of their independent status. In the evening of the same day, about 2,000 Kiev residents took to the streets in protest. Rallies also took place in some other cities. Even so, Zelensky signed the bill into law and it came into force on July 23. This led to a fresh wave of protests.
Criticism of the new law also came from the West. Given the backlash, Zelensky made a U-turn and on July 24 submitted a bill to the legislature seeking to reinforce the powers of corruption watchdogs, which, in effect, overturns the previous decision to curb their independence. Still, the bill would require the security service to subject employees of these agencies to tests six months later.