Case against Poroshenko 'for creating the OCU' is dismissed, - State Bureau of Investigations
This was reported by Radio Liberty ('Radio Svoboda').
According to the head of the State Bureau of Investigation, the criminal proceedings referred to by the former President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, in his public statements did not concern Tomos, but the cancellation of the registration of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate. It was registered based on the decision of the court chaired by Roman Truba and is now dismissed, the report says.
Sokolov noted that as part of pre-trial investigations, the State Bureau of Investigation did not challenge and did not check the issue of obtaining the Tomos of autocephaly by Ukraine.
“The said proceedings were instituted at the request of believers of this community and raised the question that they were deprived of the opportunity to use the temples of this community freely. Upon completing the pre-trial investigation, proper assessment of all possible facts and conducting all necessary investigative actions, this case was dismissed. Investigators have not established signs of a criminal offense under Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, namely, violation of the equality of citizens depending on their religious beliefs,” Sokolov said.
According to him, the cancellation of registration of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate should be considered in the framework of administrative or civil proceedings. The head of the Bureau also warned against politicizing the work of the State Bureau of Investigation and trading off the religious themes.
“The State Bureau of Investigation acts exclusively in line with effective legislation and does not interfere in matters of religion. In this regard, we have held consultations with representatives of various religious communities, which proved the position of the State Bureau of investigation,” Sokolov added.
On June 18, Petro Poroshenko, MP and the fifth President of Ukraine said that law enforcement agencies initiated a criminal case against him for "inciting inter-religious hatred" through obtaining the Tomos and creating the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
Later, the SBI confirmed to “Ukrainska Pravda” that such a case had been initiated in connection with the investigation launched by the SSU in November 2019 "at the request of the parishioners of the Kyiv Patriarchate of the UOC".
Under Petro Poroshenko's tenure, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine established in December 2018 at the unification Council received the Tomos of autocephaly on January 6, 2019, from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the same day the document arrived in Kyiv. This document confirmed the existence of the OCU as the only canonical local Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the associated UOC (Moscow Patriarchate) were the main opponents of autocephaly of the OCU. The Synod of the UOC (MP) had even appealed to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with a request to revoke the Tomos, which allegedly caused “harm to Ukrainian Orthodoxy”.
