Judge says that church should not interfere in Tymoshenko's court case

Religious figures should not direct the power of the feelings of the believers toward confrontation and legal nihilism, the judge of the Supreme Economic Court, Oleh Khrypun, told Ukrinform, commenting on the address of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, and Evangelical Christians Baptists to the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv regarding the arrest of the former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko.

“When the court considers any case, economic, administrative, civil or criminal, it should evaluate facts and evidence without any interference from the outside. And the matter in question should especially be considered impartially as it is producing a tremendous resonance and its consideration should not be influenced in any way by state figures or representatives of various religious denominations,” he said.

Khrypun explained that under certain circumstances, their statements can be viewed as interference with justice.

According to the judge, the church as one of the influential social institutions exercises a significant influence on public life and, therefore, the words of religious figures are of great importance for people. At the same time, Khrypun reminded that according to the Constitution, the church and religious organizations are separated from the state. “Religion has its own objective: they form the spirituality of the nation, and religious figures should not direct the power of the feelings of the believers toward confrontation and legal nihilism,” he said.

“I think that leaders of religious organizations should take responsibility for their each word, especially concerning the administering of justice,” he concluded.