Kholodnytskyi illegally stays under protection of the state security

On November 19, 2016 President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed an Order on Granting protection to Nazar Kholodnytskyi, Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine – Head of the Specialized Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office.

Nevertheless, the decision was made illegally, since the President had no right to provide Deputy Prosecutor General with the protection by the State Guard Department. Post of the SAPO Head is not eligible for such protection according to the law. In case of life-threatening situations, only the national police could be tasked with protecting the Head of the SAPO. This is foreseen in the Law on State Protection of Court and Law Enforcement Officials.

Nazar Kholodnytskyi told reporters that he addressed the Prosecutor General and the President’s Administration of Ukraine with a request for protection because of an attempted arson attack on the door of his apartment in 2016.  However, it had not been mentioned anywhere before.