The case against UOC priest: the court sides with accusers

Archpriest Viktor Zemlianoy. Photo: UOJ

The Rivne Court of Appeal launched a second round of the trial against the cleric of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Viktor Zemlianoy, who is accused of inciting religious hatred and disseminating works promoting the cult of violence and cruelty (Articles 161 and 300 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The court of the first instance ruled that the indictment against the priest had been drawn up incorrectly. However, the prosecutor's office disagreed and challenged this decision. Then the appellate court overturned the ruling of the first instance. Now the case against the priest will be tried again.

At the meeting, the lawyer of Archpriest Viktor Raisa Prikhodko stated that the indictment did not indicate either the motive or the purpose of the crimes of which the priest was accused, since it contains only platitudes about “hate mongering”.

The priest himself said that he would file a motion to close the case due to the absence of corpus delicti: “We will file a motion, as the case is far-fetched. The point is that it can become a precedent for further persecution of priests."

Earlier, the religious expert Lyudmila Filipovich told how she helped to fabricate a criminal case against Archpriest Viktor Zemlianoy.

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