Poroshenko initiates a bill to liquidate religious organizations

Poroshenko and the head of Phanar. Photo: svoboda.org

On February 18, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine registered bill No. 5101, which is designed to amend the current Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations. The bill is posted on the official website of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The initiators are Petro Poroshenko and the European Solidarity Party.

If the bill is approved, the religious organization can be liquidated for "violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state."

This draft proposes to include in part 1 of Article 16 of the Law of Ukraine "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations" paragraph 5, which lists additional grounds on which the activities of religious organizations can be terminated.

Such grounds, according to the authors of the bill, are calls for "the elimination of independence of Ukraine, change of the constitutional order by violent means, violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state, undermining its security, illegal seizure of state power, propaganda of war, violence, incitement of interethnic and racial hatred."

Also, the basis for the termination of the activities of a religious organization is “the dissemination of information containing justifications, recognition as legitimate, denial of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which began in 2014”.

As the UOJ previously reported, the Servant of the People and EU parties propose to celebrate the anniversary of the Brest Union.

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