Lawyer speaks about political motives behind prosecution of UOJ journalists
Journalists from the Union of Orthodox Journalists (UOJ) are being persecuted for political reasons. Photo: orda.kz
The lawyer for journalist Andriy Ovcharenko reminded the court that "the state, represented by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), had no right to protect one religious association while destroying the other."
In the lawyer's opinion, "the fact of criminal prosecution for political reasons is confirmed by the very formulations in the suspicion message."
The lawyer noted that this "suspicion" claims that "the goal of the criminal organization, in which Ovcharenko allegedly participated, was the destruction of all the attributes of the Ukrainian state, including the Orthodox Church of Ukraine."
"So, the investigation ascribes the religious association 'Orthodox Church of Ukraine' to the attributes of the Ukrainian state," the lawyer emphasized.
He reminded the court that "according to Article 20 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the state symbols of Ukraine are: the state flag, the state emblem, and the state anthem of Ukraine, while Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine establishes the principle of separation of the church and religious organizations from the state."
"Thus, the state, represented by the SBU, had no right to protect one religious association while destroying the other," the lawyer concluded.
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the SBU did not provide reasons why a UOJ journalist should be in pretrial detention.
Read also
Sand for construction of Yermak’s residence brought from cemetery, MP says
MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said that sand illegally removed from a cemetery in Ukrainka was used in the construction of the elite Dynasty cooperative in Kozyn.
Italian court recognizes family with three parents as legal
In Bari, the appellate court ordered authorities to register an adoption according to which a child is listed as having two "fathers" and one mother.
Archaeologists discover biblical Bethsaida on shore of Sea of Galilee
Researchers have discovered a first-century residential house beneath the apse of a Byzantine church and a mosaic inscription mentioning the Apostle Peter.
Israeli soldiers receive jail terms for mocking statue of the Virgin Mary
Those involved in the act of sacrilege in the village of Debel will spend several weeks behind bars for desecrating a statue of the Mother of God.
Serbian Church officially receives back land of 15th-century monastery
An agreement was signed in Belgrade transferring the territory of the ancient Vojlovica Monastery to the Banat Eparchy.
Pat Daniel comments on conflict between Phanar bishop and community in Turkey
The Bulgarian Primate believes that the hierarch of the Constantinople Patriarchate should not have forced the Bulgarian community in Edirne to serve in Greek.