OIDAC report: People in Ukraine are persecuted for their religious beliefs
Seizure of the Church of St. George the Victorious of the UOC in the Kirovohrad region. Photo: Screenshot from the Dozor_kozak1 video
In its annual report, the Austrian non-governmental organization OIDAC Europe (Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe) stated that the actions of authorities toward the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) harm believers and lead to persecution based on religious affiliation.
"Churches and clergy associated with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) located within Ukrainian-controlled territories have been subject to raids, assaults, and arbitrary detentions, perpetrated by both vandals and authorities," OIDAC notes.
Austrian researchers point out that while such actions are ostensibly justified on the grounds of overseeing institutions linked to centers of governance in the aggressor country, many of these raids tansgress legal boundaries.
"Furthermore, the characterisation of an entire religious institution based on the actions of certain members, even if in an unusually high proportion works to the detriment of the faithful, leads to the targeting of individuals on grounds of their religious affiliation and deepens the existing religious divisions within the country," the report states.
As previously reported by the UOJ, a report on violations of religious freedom in Ukraine was published in Europe.
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