Happy Constitution Day, Prisoners of Conscience!

Constitution of Ukraine. Photo: 24 Channel

It began with the words: "The first word of the first article of our Constitution is 'Ukraine'," and ended with: "Ukrainians who have changed their lives, changed their professions, but have not changed their choice in favor of freedom, Ukraine, and Europe."

However, it would be worthwhile to read the Constitution beyond the first word. After all, Article 1 does not end with the word "Ukraine," but fully reads: "Ukraine is a sovereign, independent, democratic, social, and legal state." Article 3 states that "human rights and freedoms and their guarantees determine the content and direction of the state's activities." Article 21 asserts that "human rights and freedoms are inalienable and inviolable." And Article 34 says that "everyone is guaranteed the right to freedom of thought and speech..."

Now the question is: how does this relate to the fact that prisoners of conscience are behind bars in Ukraine, such as priest Serhiy Chertylin, journalists Andriy Ovcharenko, Valery Stupnitsky, and Volodymyr Bobecheko? And they are imprisoned not for anything else but for exercising the right to freedom of speech, guaranteed by the Constitution.

The President says that Ukrainians have chosen freedom, Ukraine, and Europe. But where is this freedom in Ukraine? And is it conceivable in Europe that journalists would be arrested for criticizing a religious organization, in this case, the OCU (the latest accusation from the SBU is absurd: journalists are punished for showing in a video how the OCU seizes churches and what happens to these churches afterwards)? After all, in Europe and the entire civilized world, such criticism is not only permissible but is considered an expression of freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Every person has the right to assert that their faith and their church are the most correct and canonical, as long as it does not lead to calls for violence or the infringement of the rights of the representatives of the criticized religious organization. But somehow in Ukraine, OCU supporters, who not only call for violence against UOC believers but also carry out this violence, are at large. Meanwhile, those who defend the rights to freedom of speech and religion are behind bars!

Why is that? Or does Ukraine have a different Constitution for each person?

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