Kokhanovska's house searched due to "justification of Russian aggression"

SBU officers during a search at Victoria Kokhanovskaya's house. Photo: a video screenshot of Victoria Kokhanovska's Facebook page

On August 15, 2023, SBU officers came to search the Orthodox human rights activist Victoria Kokhanovska and hand her a new suspicion of “justifying Russian aggression”, reports Kokhanovska in a live broadcast, which she hosted on her Facebook page.

Before the start of the search, one of the representatives of the special service said that the search at Kokhanovska’s would be carried out on the basis of the decision of the Solomyanskyy Court of Kyiv under Art. 436, part 2 (Justification of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, glorification of its participants – Ed).

The sanction of the article provides for imprisonment for up to five years or restriction of liberty for up to five years.

Note that this is the third suspicion that they are trying to hand over to Victoria Kokhanovska. First, she was declared suspected of hooliganism, and then under Part 1 of Art. 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (deliberate actions aimed at inciting national, racial or religious enmity and hatred).

The lawyer of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Nikita Chekman, told the UOJ that the same investigator who is conducting the Metropolitan Pavel case came to the search of Victoria Kokhanovska.

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