In Khust, man fined for criticizing OCU on social media

Ivan Mikulyak. Photo: Patriots of Ukraine

The Khust District Court of the Zakarpattia region found Ivan Mikulyak, a resident of Khust, guilty of "inciting religious hostility and hatred" towards the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), reports Patriots of Ukraine.

Court materials indicate that in August 2022, Ivan Mikulyak created a Facebook page where he posted a message discrediting the OCU. In his post, he referred to the OCU as "godless" and "opponents of the Orthodox faith" and expressed outrage that, according to him, believers were being prevented from praying at the Pochaiv Lavra. In October of that year, Mikulyak accused the OCU of seizing property and churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) and mentioned a "satanic synod".

One of the key arguments for the prosecution was a comment in which Mikulyak criticized changes in the celebration of religious holidays and called the actions of OCU leader Epifaniy "treachery".

Although Ivan Mikulyak did not admit his guilt, Judge Mykhailo Dovzhanyn found him guilty under Part 1 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and imposed a fine of 3,400 UAH. Additionally, Mikulyak must pay over 7,000 UAH for court expert assessments.

It was previously reported that the prosecution in UOJ cases interprets any criticism of the OCU’s actions as "an attempt to destroy the Ukrainian state and all its attributes."

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