Ombudsman demands dismissal of the Head of the State Service of Geology and Subsoil: what is known

The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets appealed to the Prime Minister of Ukraine to initiate the dismissal of the head of the State Service of Geology and Mineral Resources. Lubinets reported this in Telegram, UNN reports.

According to the Ombudsman, he was approached by a citizen who had been illegally dismissed from her job.

"The woman said that she tried to resolve this issue on her own and repeatedly went to court. Imagine that she spent about 4 years on "litigation"! As a result, she won the court cases on her reinstatement! However, the Head of the State Service of Geology and Subsoil constantly disagreed with the court decision and refused to hire her back. Therefore, a criminal proceeding was opened against him for failing to comply with the court decision to reinstate the citizen in her position," he said.

After that, the woman wrote to the Ombudsman's Office. As a result of the appeal, Lubinets opened proceedings, within which the Commissioner's official submission was sent to the Head of the State Service of Geology and Subsoil.

"How did the Chairman react? He ignored the requirements of the submission. We did not stop and drew up a report on an administrative offense. And for failing to comply with the requirements, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court found him guilty under Article 188-40 of the Code of Administrative Offenses and imposed a fine.

If you suddenly thought that the story was over, it wasn't! The Head of the State Service of Geology and Subsoil once again disagreed with the court's decision and filed an appeal. However, the court upheld the decision in terms of the Head of the State Service of Geology and Subsoil's guilty plea, but even after that, he did not reinstate the woman," he added.

The Ombudsman sent letters to the SBI Director and the Prosecutor General to attach the Commissioner's submission and court rulings to the criminal proceedings for their consideration.

"At the same time, I appealed to the Prime Minister of Ukraine to initiate the issue of dismissal of the Head of the State Service of Geology and Subsoil. I will personally participate in a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to consider this issue. I would like to note that 15 months passed from the moment the appeal was received until the Kyiv Court of Appeal made its decision. Now let's do some basic math! The Ombudsman's Office dealt with the case for 1 year and 3 months, plus 4 years spent by the Ukrainian citizen. In total, the fight for justice has been going on for 5 years and 3 months!" - Lubinets added.

The Ombudsman noted that the lack of accountability breeds arbitrariness and assured that he would keep the case under special attention.