Ukraine prosecutor workers detain anti-corruption workers

Employees with the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine detained employees of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau on Aug. 12, alleging that they were engaged in illegal surveillance from a post set up near their offices, said the next day Volodymyr Hutsuliak, the director of an economic investigations department of the Prosecutor General’s Office. Special forces with the Anti-Corruption Bureau arrived to free them, leading to a physical conflict in which three prosecutor general employees were assaulted and injured, Hutsuliak said.

Zenon Zawada: This is the latest episode in what has become publicly recognized as a conflict between the Prosecutor General’s Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. This developing conflict is very negative for Ukraine’s image with Western institutions, especially since the Anti-Corruption Bureau is considered to be the most independent law enforcement body in Ukraine, whereas the Prosecutor General’s Office is widely believed to represent the president’s interests. The president ought to take measures to deflate this conflict and prevent it from escalating further.