Mocked Ukraine's independence on Facebook: ex-MES employee's case sent to court

Former employee of the Ministry of Education and Science Andriy Vasylenko, who mocked Ukraine's independence in a publication, will be tried for humiliating the national honor and dignity of Ukrainians, UNN reports, citing the Kyiv Prosecutor's Office.

Prosecutors ... sent to court an indictment against a former employee of the Ministry of Education and Science on the fact of committing intentional actions aimed at humiliating national honor and dignity (part 1 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) 

Details

The pre-trial investigation established that the accused, who was working at the Ministry at the time, posted a publication on his Facebook page with the headline "On the secession of Ukraine and the Baltic Republics from the USSR. Longrid".

In particular, he noted that "not all former Soviet countries benefited from independence". He also called Ukraine's independence a "throwaway" and criticized leaflets that campaigned for Ukraine's secession from the USSR on December 1, 1991, claiming that people voted not for independence but for promises of quick enrichment.

Thus, the defendant disseminated thoughts, views and beliefs, the content of which is offensive to the Ukrainian people, humiliating their national honor and dignity on the basis of nationality, political and ideological beliefs.

The sanction of the article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 3 years.

Previously

Last year, a state expert at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine made a scandalous post on his Facebook page in which he distorted the Ukrainian language and questioned the idea of Ukraine's independence. The ministry initiated disciplinary proceedings