Head of Legal Department of the UOC: Statement by Musiy on Separatist Literature in Lavra Is Unfounded

The head of the Synod Legal Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Archpriest Alexander Bach called unfounded the statement made by people's deputy Oleh Musiy that there is separatist literature on the bookshelves of the Kyiv-Pechersk and the Pochayiv Lavras.

"Mr. Musiy’s statements are unfounded! I guess they are based on questionable investigative journalism, which is so popular in the media and on the Internet now. But this is not a reason to accuse the Church of separatism ", the head of the Legal Department of the UOC said.

"I have a question if Mr. Musiy personally saw books with a call for separatism in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the Pochayiv Lavra?" Archpriest Alexander asked a rhetorical question.

The cleric said that the distribution of materials calling for separatism is a criminal offense. "Such a crime is investigated by law enforcement bodies, which in criminal proceedings conduct appropriate examination of the materials. And after that the court shall determine whether the defendant is guilty of distributing materials calling for separatism or not. This is called the presumption of innocence. It is written in the Constitution," he stressed.

We recall that on Friday, April 1, at the regular session of the Verkhovna Rada MP from the party "People's control" made an allegation that there are separatist books on the shelves of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the Pochayiv Lavra.

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