SBI opens a criminal case against DESS leadership

DESS head Viktor Yelensky. Photo: suspilne.media

On 19 December 2023, the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) initiated criminal proceedings against the head of the State Ethnopolitics Service Viktor Yelensky and his deputy Viktor Voinalovych for inciting inter-religious discord and inappropriate response to the petition demanding not to ban the UOC’s operation, reports the Telegram channel "Dialog.Tut".

On 30 December 2023, the Editorial Board received a corresponding letter from the SBI with an excerpt from the Unified Register of pre-trial investigations.

"We close this year by saying that now we accuse the authorities of improper performance of their duties. Two courts – Administrative and Pechersk district courts – agreed with us. The Administrative Court opened proceedings against the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, and the Pechersky District Court obliged the SBI to open a case against DESS," the journalists wrote.

Earlier, the journalist of "Dialog.Tut" Yulia Kominko said that the response of DESS to the petition demanding not to ban the UOC contained a gross violation of the statutory procedure for responding to an electronic petition and "is a manifestation of disregard for 25,000 citizens of Ukraine".

As reported, the court ordered the SBI to open a case against the leaders of the State Ethnopolitics Service.

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