UOC can be banned based on Russian documents

The Verkhovna Rada. Photo: RBC

The bill 8371 in the new edition, recommended by the Committee of the Council for adoption in the second reading, contains provisions according to which the UOC can be banned based on the statutory documents of the Russian Federation structures.

The UOJ has a table with changes in the bill at its disposal.

In particular, the document (Article 3.1) states that "the activity of the ROC on the territory of Ukraine is prohibited."

Article 5 states that the activities of a religious organization are not allowed if it is affiliated with a foreign religious organization (association) whose activity is prohibited in accordance with Article 3 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Protection of National and Public Security, Rights and Freedoms of Man in the Sphere of Activities of Religious Organizations."

As such affiliation, it is indicated that:

• in official documents and/or decisions of management bodies, and/or in the charter (regulation) of the foreign religious organization (association) whose activity is prohibited... there are indications of the inclusion of a religious organization (association) operating in Ukraine in its structure or provisions on the right of the statutory management bodies of the specified foreign religious organization (association) to make decisions on canonical and organizational issues that are binding for the religious organization (association) operating on the territory of Ukraine (paragraph 3);
• official documents and/or decisions of management bodies and/or the charter (regulation) of the foreign religious organization (association) whose activity is prohibited... provide for the mandatory inclusion of leaders and/or authorized representatives of a religious organization (association) operating in Ukraine in the statutory management bodies of the specified foreign religious organization (association).

In addition, in the new edition of the law, it is stated that the activities of a religious organization (community – Ed.) cease if it is caught in the propaganda of the "Russian world".

"When applying this norm, the facts of spreading the propaganda of the ideology of the Russian world as directly by the religious organization (association) itself, as well as by its statutory or other management bodies, other persons acting on their behalf, on the instructions or with the permission or in accordance with another method of coordination, regardless of the form of such coordination," it is said in the new edition of the bill 8371.

At the same time, to prove the facts of "propaganda of the Russian world", the state can use "conclusions of religious studies expertise", "information received from individuals and legal entities, from the media and other open sources."

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the Verkhovna Rada Committee Rada approved the bill on the UOC for adoption in the second reading.

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