Public Prosecutors to Monitor Racial and Religious Intolerance

The Office of the Public Prosecutor General sent special letters to the Public Prosecutors of the oblasts, Kyiv, Sevastopol and the Crimea demanding to intensify the struggle against manifestations of “racial and religious intolerance and xenophobia,” reported Kommersant.

The public prosecutors were called to pay close attention to the validity of the decisions of the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and migration service regarding the deportation of foreigners, due level of preventive measures “to detect and prevent crimes motivated by national, racial and religious hatred.” According to the Office of Public Prosecutor General (OPPG), it is necessary to intensify the struggle against xenophobia and racial intolerance in connection with Euro 2012.

At the same time, OPPG reminded that a considerable part of the 130 thousand foreigners living in Ukraine has no legal grounds to remain in its territory: “In the last year, over 13 thousand illegal migrants were deported from the country.”

Representatives of the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs explained that they are not going to make any special steps in connection with the instruction of OPPG: “We simply will work harder if the Office of Public Prosecutor considers it necessary.”

Last week, the European Committee Against Racism and Intolerance recommended Ukraine to strengthen control over the activity of the local neo-nazis and skinheads in connection with Euro 2012.

According to experts, the fulfillment of the task set by OPPG depends upon the diligence of the police. “To increase the struggle against xenophobia, policemen should themselves become less xenophobic at least for the time of the championship,” stated the head of the Vinnytsia Human Right Group, Dmytrii Groisman.