Court rules post criticizing transfer from UOC to OCU incites hatred

Courthouse building. Photo: Zakarpattia Regional State Administration

On July 10, 2025, the Rakhiv District Court found a woman guilty of inciting religious hatred. The charge stemmed from her Facebook comments which, according to the court-ordered linguistic analysis, contained statements “aimed at persuading people of the inexpediency of transferring from the UOC to the OCU.”

Experts classified her words as incitement to hostility and hatred. However, the phrase that drew the most public attention was in the court’s ruling itself, which explicitly said the offense consisted in persuading others of the “inexpediency or uselessness” of transferring from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the jurisdiction of the OCU.

The reasoning section of the ruling stated that these characteristics were “expressed in language with negative and derogatory connotations” and were allegedly aimed at undermining religious peace.

The court also reproached the woman for “spreading false information about the violent seizure of UOC churches by OCU representatives,” claiming that such assertions “do not correspond to reality and aggravate interfaith tensions.”

She was fined 5,100 hryvnias and ordered to pay 14,009.68 hryvnias in court costs for the expert analysis.

As a reminder, on June 17, OCU supporters stormed the grounds of the Holy Spirit Cathedral of the UOC in Chernivtsi, using violence against clergy and believers. A criminal investigation was opened and is ongoing. Deputy Chief of Police of Chernivtsi Sviatoslav Kyshlar was temporarily suspended and is under internal review. However, there is still no information about arrests or suspects.

Another incident occurred in April in the village of Verkhni Stanivtsi, Chernivtsi region, where unknown individuals twice attacked UOC believers with wooden sticks and pepper spray. This case, along with the lack of adequate police response, was documented in the UN’s Human Rights Report on Ukraine for the period December 2024–May 2025.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Cherkasy court accused the OCU of pressuring the judiciary.

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