The Ukrainian parliament has reached the final stage of preparing a draft law banning religious organisations associated with the Russian Federation.
This was reported to the national state news agency Ukrinform by the parliamentary committee that is working on amendments to the law. As a reminder, draft law 8371 was passed in the first reading on 19 October. MPs have submitted amendments, and the draft law is being prepared for the second reading.
The document envisages the impossibility of the activities of religious organizations, which are affiliated with the centers of influence of a religious structure whose governing center is located in a state that carries out armed aggression against Ukraine.
The activities of the relevant religious organizations, according to the text of the draft law, may be suspended in court following an administrative claim by either the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience or the prosecutor.
It is envisaged that the State Service of Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience should conduct religious expertise to identify subordination in canonical and organizational matters with the centers of influence of a religious organization located in the territory of the aggressor state. Based on the results of the religious expertise, the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience will issue orders to eliminate infringements within one month from the date of their release. If religious organizations fail to comply with the instructions within the established time limits, the State Service will have the right to file an administrative lawsuit to terminate the activities of the organizations in question. In other words, the law will enable the authorities to terminate the activities of parishes that continue to engage in anti-Ukrainian activities.
MPs expect the law to be adopted as a whole by the end of the year.
For reference.
The aforementioned draft law No. 8371 on the activities of religious organizations in Ukraine, according to which the activities of the UOC (MP) may be suspended. The draft law has become the result of a consensus in society and is a response to numerous cases of high treason by the clergy of Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine.
As a reminder, the SSU has already opened 68 criminal cases against representatives of the UOC (MP). The range of cases is very wide – from high treason and collaboration, to smuggling of evaders across the border and even distribution of child pornography. The head of the SSU, Vasyl Maliuk, said in an interview that the clergy of Moscow Patriarchate also worked as agents of Russia, being in contact with Russian special services and fire aimers.
Almost two dozen of the UOC (MP) «clergymen» have already been convicted. They received sentences ranging from 5 to 12 years. In addition, on the initiative of the SSU, 19 representatives of the pro-Russian church were deprived of Ukrainian citizenship because they had Russian passports. It is known that Ukraine managed to exchange some of the clergy for Ukrainian citizens as part of the prisoner exchange. In particular, last year, a priest of Moscow church, Andriy Pavlenko, was met after the exchange by the late founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevgen Prigozhin.
