Rivne Court infringed the rights of believers of the Ukranian Orthodox Church in Ptichya village
January 19, 2016. According to the head of the NGO “Public protection of rights”, human rights activist Oleg Denisov, Rivne city court judge ordered the arrest of a church building belonging to the religious community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ptichya village, as reports the Union of the Orthodox Journalists. Thus, the court in fact deprived the Ukrainians of the right to freedom of religion.
“Arrest of a real property in criminal proceedings may only be conducted if the property is owned by individuals listed in Section 1 of Article 170 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, namely the suspect, accused or those who by virtue of the law shall bear civil liability for damage caused by the suspect or accused”, – said Denisov.
He explained that the judgment is based on allegedly received threats of destruction – burning of the church building. “The police should have opened criminal proceedings, searched for blackmailers and took a matter to court – the threats would have stopped after several judgements. What is the reason for arresting a church? Can a paper glued to the doors of the church prevent its actual destruction? Definitively not” – said human rights activist.
“All this perjuriously testimony is fabricated in order to justify the arrest because the representatives of the Kiev Patriarchate can’t accept the fact of their court defeat, and the government isn’t able to restore legal order and prosecute those who are openly encroaching on the property of the believers “- explained Denisov.