Former Soviet political prisoners call for ban on UOC

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Photo: DW

The Lviv Regional Society of Political Prisoners and Repressed has appealed to the "Servant of the People" faction with a demand to vote for the ban on the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).

In the published letter, the former prisoners describe the Church as a branch of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and claim that the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate is a "powerful propaganda tool of the 'Russian world' and a serious threat to the national security of the state."

They noted that they did not see the signatures of deputies on the document supporting the ban on the UOC.

The Lviv Regional Society of Political Prisoners and Repressed (a subdivision of the All-Ukrainian Society of Political Prisoners and Repressed) is a public organization that unites participants in the national liberation struggle, fighters against communist and fascist totalitarian regimes, and individuals who were repressed and imprisoned (in prisons, concentration camps, in exile) for their political, religious, and national beliefs.

As reported by the UOJ, religious scholar Liudmyla Fylypovych stated that Bill 8371 could lead to the deportation of millions of UOC believers to the GULAGs.

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