Source: www.forum18.org
Date: February 4, 2020
Officers of the State Security Ministry of the unrecognised Luhansk
People's Republic threatened Baptist Pastor Vladimir Rytikov – a
Soviet-era prisoner of conscience – with an "extremism" criminal
prosecution if he continues to lead worship without official permission.
Prosecutors are still investigating Orthodox Church of Ukraine priest
Anatoli Nazarenko on "extremism" charges.
DONBAS: Luhansk: Soviet-era prisoner of conscience to be jailed again?
http://www.forum18.org/archive
By Felix Corley, Forum 18
Officers of the State Security Ministry of the unrecognised Luhansk
People's Republic in eastern Ukraine have threatened a Baptist pastor in
the town of Krasnodon with criminal charges of "extremism" for refusing to
halt his leadership of his congregation. Vladimir Rytikov – a Soviet-era
prisoner of conscience – faced repeated administrative prosecution in
2018 and 2019.
The man who answered the phone at the State Security Ministry branch in
Krasnodon refused to say if he was from the secret police or explain why
the Ministry is considering bringing "extremism" criminal charges against
Pastor Rytikov. The duty officer at the State Security Ministry in Luhansk
refused to put Forum 18 through to anyone to discuss the case (see below).
Inna Sheryayeva, head of the Religious Organisations and Spirituality
Department of the Culture, Sport and Youth Ministry in Luhansk, stressed to
Forum 18 that "we're not threatening" Pastor Rytikov (see below).
Pastor Rytikov, who is 60, leads the Council of Churches Baptist
congregation in the town of Krasnodon [official Ukrainian name Sorokyne],
just a few kilometres from the eastern border with Russia. Like all Council
of Churches congregations it does not seek official registration (see
below).
The rebel authorities banned 12 books published by the Council of Churches
Baptists – including the Gospel of John – as "extremist". The 26
November 2019 ban came a week after Luhansk's Supreme Court overturned part
of a lower court decision that Christian books seized from Pastor Rytikov
should be destroyed. The Supreme Court left unchanged the pastor's fine of
more than a month's average local wage (see below).
Prosecutors are still investigating the "extremism" case against Fr Anatoli
Nazarenko, a priest of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. "No one is inviting
him [for interrogation], but the investigation is continuing," local church
members confirmed to Forum 18 in early February (see below).
Pro-Russian rebels seized parts of Ukraine's Luhansk Region in March 2014
and the following month proclaimed what they called the Luhansk People's
Republic (LPR), which is internationally unrecognised. Heavy fighting
ensued. The rebel administration, which in January 2020 controls about a
third of Ukraine's Luhansk Region, has declared a state of martial law.
Pro-Russian rebels similarly seized parts of Ukraine's Donetsk Region in
April 2014 and proclaimed what they called the Donetsk People's Republic
(DPR), which is also internationally unrecognised. Heavy fighting ensued.
The rebel administration in January 2020 controls nearly half of Ukraine's
Donetsk Region. The rebel-held area adjoins the rebel-held area of Luhansk
Region.
"Illegal" religious communities
The rebel Luhansk authorities insist that religious communities that have
not undergone local registration are illegal. They point to a May 2015
Decree by Igor Plotnitsky, the then Head of the unrecognised entity,
banning mass events while the area was under martial law
(http://www.forum18.org/archiv
local Religion Law approved by the LPR People's Council.
The Law bans all non-Moscow Patriarchate Orthodox churches from applying
for state permission to exist
(http://www.forum18.org/archiv
Church of Ukraine – the successor of the Kiev Patriarchate – has not
applied for registration for its Luhansk cathedral and another parish in
the rebel-controlled territory.
Council of Churches Baptists (who do not seek registration on principle as
they see this as leading to state interference)
http://www.forum18.org/archive
as "illegal". This is despite – as the Baptists have noted - the local
Religion Law stating in Article 3, Part 1 that people have the right to
form religious associations, "but this is not obligatory".
Jehovah's Witnesses also did not apply for state permission to exist,
pointing out that "the registration procedure implies the revealing of
personal information on the worshippers who could easily become new
targets".
The Religion Law also bans all exercise of freedom of religion and belief
without the permission of the authorities.
(http://www.forum18.org/archiv
No Protestant community received state permission to exist. Following this,
"with great pain" Seventh-day Adventist communities reluctantly decided to
halt all their activities to avoid "provoking unpleasantness" and the
seizure of church property, including musical instruments and communion
vessels. In September 2018 Jehovah's Witnesses were banned.
In March 2019, all Baptist Union congregations were ordered to halt public
meetings for worship or face punishment
(http://www.forum18.org/archiv
didn't insist that our churches should not meet for worship," Pastor Igor
Bandura of the Ukrainian Baptist Union told Forum 18. "But they have now
sent a clear message that they will not tolerate such meetings for worship
any more". The Baptist Union reluctantly decided that its congregations
could no longer meet publicly for services after the last Sunday worship on
10 March 2019.
The rebel authorities have also banned many religious leaders from outside
their territory from visiting their fellow believers
(http://www.forum18.org/archiv
access by the Greek Catholic bishop and a Greek Catholic priest, the bishop
of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and many Protestant leaders. This has
left their local communities feeling isolated.
Soviet-era prisoner of conscience
The Council of Churches Baptist congregation in the town of Krasnodon
[official Ukrainian name Sorokyne], just a few kilometres from the eastern
border with Russia, has met in the same location since 1961. The Church has
been led for some years by Pastor Vladimir Rytikov.
The Soviet authorities jailed Vladimir Rytikov from 1979 to 1982 to punish
his involvement in a Christian children's summer camp. They also jailed his
father Pavel Rytikov, who spent more than a decade behind bars in the
Soviet Union to punish his exercise of freedom of religion and belief.
Raids, property seizures, fines, book bans
The Krasnodon Baptist congregation is among Protestant communities to have
faced increased harassment since the rebels took control of parts of
Luhansk Region in 2014.
Officials raided the church's regular Sunday meeting for worship in June
2018 (http://www.forum18.org/archiv
refused to pay a fine of 8,000 Russian Roubles (about five weeks' average
wages for those in formal work) handed down in July 2018 to punish him for
leading an unapproved worship meeting.
In September 2018, court bailiffs opened proceedings to recover the money
for the unpaid fine (http://www.forum18.org/archiv
In October 2018, they came to Pastor Rytikov's home in Krasnodon and
summoned him to court that day. There, he told Judge Yuliya Kudrevatykh
that he had no intention of paying the fine because he does not regard
himself as guilty of any wrongdoing.
Judge Kudrevatykh found him guilty under Administrative Code Article 20.26,
Part 1 of failing to pay the fine. She handed him an additional punishment
of 20 hours' community service
(http://www.forum18.org/archiv
appealed against this extra punishment to the LPR Supreme Court in Luhansk.
On 14 November 2018, the court overturned the community service punishment.
However, the July 2018 fine remained in force.
(http://www.forum18.org/archiv
In November 2018, court bailiffs came to Pastor Rytikov's home, going
through all the rooms, recording what property he had and taking
photographs (http://www.forum18.org/archiv
2019, court bailiffs again raided his home, accompanied by two police
officers and two official witnesses. Not finding the car they had hoped to
seize, they seized a bread maker and music centre.
In April 2019, police raided the Sunday worship meeting of the Krasnodon
Church. They took Pastor Rytikov and two other leaders to the police
station, where they fingerprinted, photographed and interrogated them
(http://www.forum18.org/archiv
Krasnodon Town and District Court again fined Pastor Rytikov for leading
unregistered worship.
Following an August 2019 police raid on Sunday worship, Krasnodon court
fined one of Pastor Rytikov's colleagues, Pastor Pyotr Tatarenko.
(http://www.forum18.org/archiv
The rebel authorities banned 12 books published by the Council of Churches
Baptists – including the Gospel of John – as "extremist"
(http://www.forum18.org/archiv
ban was made public on 12 December 2019, when the Justice Ministry
published a list of the banned books on its website.
(http://www.forum18.org/archiv
The ban came a week after Luhansk's Supreme Court overturned part of a
lower court decision that Christian books seized from Pastor Rytikov should
be destroyed. The Supreme Court left unchanged the pastor's fine of more
than a month's average local wage.
As well as the Gospel of John, the banned "extremist" books also contain
the main hymnbook used by the Council of Churches Baptists, "Songs of
Revival", as well as their regular magazine and children's books.
(http://www.forum18.org/archiv
Yelena Tsvetkova, the head of the Registration Department at the Justice
Ministry, told Forum 18 in December 2019 that the government banning
decision was not public
(http://www.forum18.org/archiv
was in accordance with the law.
Inna Sheryayeva, head of the Religious Organisations and Spirituality
Department of the Culture, Sport and Youth Ministry in Luhansk, dismissed
reports that the government had banned 12 Baptist books, including the
Gospel of John. Told that the list is on the Justice Ministry website, she
told Forum 18 on 4 February 2020: "Anything can be put on a website. In any
case, it is a different Ministry."
Secret police interrogation, threats
Officers of the LPR State Security Ministry arrived at the home of Pastor
Vladimir Rytikov in the town of Krasnodon at about 5 pm on 28 January 2020,
local Baptists told Forum 18. They took him to the Ministry branch in
Krasnodon for questioning. "They told my wife not to worry and not to tell
anyone, and they promised to bring me back home in half an hour," Pastor
Rytikov noted.
"You've been brought to administrative responsibility for conducting
worship services without registration?" officers asked Pastor Rytikov. He
responded that he had.
"Are you continuing to gather?" officers asked him. He responded that they
do. "Are you going to gather in future?" they asked. Pastor Rytikov said
that they would.
Officers put other questions to him about his religious activity. "They
then read me a warning that I am conducting extremist activity – that I
incite people in sermons to extremism – and that I distribute extremist
literature," Pastor Rytikov noted. "If that continues they'll bring me to
criminal responsibility under Article 340.
Criminal Code Article 340 punishes "Public calls to carry out extremist
activity" with, in Part 1, fines of 100 to 300 times the minimum monthly
wage or an individual's income for between one and two years, or forced
labour for up to three years or imprisonment of up to four years. Part 2
punishes the same actions with use of the media, telecommunications or the
internet, with forced labour of up to five years or up to five years'
imprisonment.
State Security officers also told Pastor Rytikov that a special commission
which examined religious literature seized from him had ruled that it was
"extremist".
The man who answered the phone on 4 February at the State Security Ministry
branch in Krasnodon refused to say if he was from the secret police or
explain why the Ministry is considering bringing "extremism" criminal
charges against Pastor Rytikov. The duty officer at the State Security
Ministry in Luhansk refused to put Forum 18 through to anyone to discuss
the case.
Inna Sheryayeva, head of the Religious Organisations and Spirituality
Department of the Culture, Sport and Youth Ministry in Luhansk, stressed to
Forum 18 on 4 February that "we're not threatening" Pastor Rytikov.
Pastor Rytikov adamantly rejects the accusations of "extremism". Neither at
worship services, nor in our literature is there anything extremist," he
insisted. "If the Word of God – the Gospel of John indeed – is deemed
an extremist book, this represents a rebellion against God himself and
everything sacred!"
Other "extremism" prosecution threats
In April 2019 anti-"extremism" police raided and searched the Holy Trinity
Cathedral and diocesan offices
(http://www.forum18.org/archiv
of Ukraine in the city of Luhansk.
An officer of the police Department for Combating Extremism and Organised
Crime in Luhansk insisted that "there are no repressions". Andrei Litsoev,
then head of the Religious Organisations and Spirituality Department of the
Culture, Sport and Youth Ministry blamed the Orthodox Church of Ukraine
itself for the raid. "They're guilty," he insisted to Forum 18 in April
2019. "It is not registered, so it doesn't exist. They can't conduct their
activity. They show no desire to legalise their situation."
Litsoev did not explain how they could be registered when the Religion Law
bans all non-Moscow Patriarchate Orthodox churches from applying for state
permission to exist. (http://www.forum18.org/archiv
Officials then began investigating charges that the Orthodox Church of
Ukraine in Luhansk was holding narcotics, then weapons, then "extremist"
literature. (http://www.forum18.org/archiv
forced the two priests - Fr Anatoli Nazarenko and Fr Gennady Kurganov –
to sign statements that they would not leave rebel-held territory. This
restriction was not continued for Fr Kurganov.
Police prepared an "extremism" criminal investigation against Fr Nazarenko
which they then handed on to prosecutors. Banned from leaving rebel-held
territory, this ban was lifted in September 2019 after five months.
(http://www.forum18.org/archiv
"A criminal case has not been opened, but the investigation has not been
closed," one Orthodox Christian noted in October 2019 about the
investigation into Fr Nazarenko
(http://www.forum18.org/archiv
apparently still studying the case. Of course, the literature they claim to
have seized had nothing to do with us."
Prosecutors are still investigating the "extremism" case against Fr
Nazarenko. "No one is inviting him [for interrogation], but the
investigation is continuing," local church members confirmed to Forum 18 in
early February 2020. (END)
Full reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Donbas
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