Turkmenistan's Prosecutor-General Amanmyrat Khallyev has been dismissed for “failing to combat corruption among law enforcement officers.”

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov harshly criticized Amanmyrat Khallyev at a State Security Council session on May 4, saying he had been “unable to prevent corruption in a timely fashion" among police and prosecutors.”

Khallyev's removal from the post of prosecutor-general was approved by parliament the same day.

Berdymukhammedov also announced a formal reprimand for Interior Minister Isgender Mulikov, citing corruption among police officials, according to Radio Liberty’s Turkmen Service.

The president reportedly also said that several other officials at the prosecutor's office and in the Interior Ministry were sacked, and urged Supreme Court Chairman Begench Charyev to examine their actions “thoroughly.”

Former Turkmen chief prosecutor Khallyev was taken into custody.  About 50 other people, including prosecutors and police officers, were arrested together with him.