Kniazhytsky: DESS attempts to discredit Law 8371

Head of DESS Viktor Yelensky. Photo: interfax.com.ua

European Solidarity party MP, Mykola Kniazhytsky, stated that the State Service of Ukraine on Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) is involved in blocking the anti-church bill 8371, the deputy wrote on the party's Facebook page.

“DESS not only does not insist on the immediate adoption of the bill but also attempts to discredit the project, which was prepared by the government and refined in the relevant committee together with the entire deputy corps,” Kniazhytsky wrote.

He also stated that the information claiming that U.S. Republicans spoke out against the anti-church project and that this initiative contradicts international law is "lies and propaganda from Moscow and its lobbyists".

As the UOJ reported, the U.S. State Department's report on violations of freedom of religion provides specific facts of state pressure on believers, including criticism of Law 8371.

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