Law enforcement officer detained in Odesa region on suspicion of being a supporter of Russia

Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation and the Security Service of Ukraine detained a law enforcement officer in Odesa region who was praising the occupiers.

According to the SBI press service, he openly promoted pro-Russian narratives in his office.

The law enforcement officer justified Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine, called the temporary occupation of part of Ukraine's territory a positive development, and claimed that the torture of Ukrainian war prisoners by the occupiers was just.

The SBI notified the detainee of suspicion of justifying, recognizing as lawful the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which began in 2014, as well as justifying and denying the temporary occupation of part of the state's territory.

The law enforcement officer was removed from office and the court imposed a pre-trial restraint in the form of detention. The sanction of the article provides for a sentence of up to 8 years in prison with confiscation of property.

However, those detained under this article do not always end up in prison. In September, the Peresypskyi District Court of Odesa found a priest guilty of justifying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and humiliating national honor and dignity. The priest was sentenced to five years in prison, but commuted to three years of probation.

According to the investigation, the priest held the rank of archpriest of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church and had pro-Russian views and beliefs. At the same time, the Security Service of Ukraine detained two men in Odesa suspected of spreading hostile propaganda, justifying Russia's war in Ukraine, and praising Russians. Among the detainees was a 58-year-old priest of a church in the Odesa diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate. During conversations with parishioners, he glorified the occupiers and insulted the religious beliefs of believers of other faiths.

Кирило Бойко