Human rights activists say how to protect a church from seizure

NGO "Public Advocacy" published legal recommendations for members of religious communities on the protection of rights and interests in conflict situations.

In situations of possible violations of the rights of UOC believers, human rights activists recommend the following basic actions for protection.

Prevention of seizure when the first threats emerge. The rector and active lay people can almost always determine a situation that can potentially develop into a physical seizure of the church. The best option for protection in such a situation is anti-agitation, that is undertaking awareness-raising measures that refute the myths, slanderous and manipulative slogans of raider propagandists by the parish priest and members of the religious community.

In the case when the first stage went unnoticed, or for other reasons, it was not possible to prevent the seizure – groups of people consisting of local residents who yield to manipulative propaganda begin to appear near the church. The community should remember that the only reason for evicting the community from the temple and transferring it to another community is a court decision. Before the court decision on eviction, the community, headed by the rector, has the right to stay in the church regardless of the will or behaviour of the invaders.

The rector and laymen must file a written report with law enforcement agencies on every fact of the attack on the church, with mandatory wording in it about the request to open criminal proceedings. It should be remembered that the disruption of a service is a separate criminal offense provided for in Article 180 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and the responsibility for its commission must arise regardless of the seizure of the church.

The right of possession, not even backed up to the full extent by a complete package of documents, is protected by the current legislation on an equal footing with the right of ownership and the person is considered a legitimate owner and user of the property, unless otherwise established by the court.

It is not necessary to carry out independent defense without legal support due to the complexity of this category of cases, as they are not typical and have their own individual features.

In the case of a protracted conflict or preparation for the seizure of the church using the schemes of transfer of the community on forged documents, various negotiations are often held with the participation of government bodies. It is necessary to take part in such negotiations only if there are professional lawyers, representatives of the diocese, authoritative priests who can reasonably protect the interests of the community in the negotiating group.

In some cases it is advisable to invite representatives of the OSCE mission, independent human rights activists or journalists to meetings. It is also desirable to make an audio recording of the negotiations followed by the final protocol of the negotiations.