In Serbia, the intelligentsia society has created an appeal in defense of the believers of the UOC, reports Pravblog. At the moment, 109 people have signed up, these are representatives of the academic, scientific and expert communities, as well as cultural figures of Serbia.

Among the signatories there are such personalities as the famous director Emir Kusturica, composer Svetislav Bozic, actress Ivana Zhigon. Also signatures were left by 5 academicians and 49 university professors.

The appeal in defense of shrines and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is open, any citizen of Serbia can join it, and in the future it is planned to make it open to intellectuals from other countries.

Text of the appeal:

“We, representatives of the academic community, as well as cultural figures of the Republic of Serbia and countries where the Serbian population lives, express our deep concern at the gross violation of fundamental human rights in Ukraine.

First, it is a blatant violation of constitutional norms and laws that guarantee freedom of religion.

What is happening now with the priests and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church can only be called state terror.

Namely, according to the defenders of the rights of citizens of Ukraine, today more than 75 priests of the UOC and hundreds of members of their parishes are subjected to various forms of repression.

Apart from isolated cases of arson of places of worship, in 2022 alone, with the open support of the authorities, 250 churches of the UOC were seized. This year, this trend has not only continued, but also intensified. Now those who support the so-called. The OCU, which is not recognized by 11 of the 15 Local Orthodox Churches, is seizing churches in Khmelnitsky, Chernivtsi, Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine. Priests and believers of the UOC are subjected to various forms of persecution. They are not only intimidated, but also beaten, maimed, poisoned with tear gas. Supporters of the OCU, often with the assistance of state structures, do not hesitate to use physical violence even against the bishops of the UOC. Moreover, some bishops have been placed under house arrest or sanctioned for ill-conceived, fabricated reasons. These and other data indicate that a well-planned and thorough destruction of entire dioceses of the UOC is underway.

At the same time, throughout Ukraine, regional and city councils are making decisions to ban the functioning of the UOC in their regions. Bills to ban the Church were registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and on May 15, 2023, a court decision opened up the possibility of depriving the UOC of its official name and transferring its property to other confessions. The Ukrainian state not only did not return the property of the UOC, illegally confiscated in Soviet times, but also deprives it of the right to use the land plots where religious buildings are located.

Considering that we live in the 21st century, it is difficult to imagine how many people in Ukraine, as well as in Western countries, are not only indifferent, but also agree with the outrageous persecution of believers of the UOC. While various rights are promoted in the modern world, many turn a blind eye to the pain, tears and blood of millions of Ukrainians who simply want to keep the faith of their ancestors. A faith that has nothing to do with the ongoing war and political problems between Ukraine and Russia.

Since it is our moral duty, as representatives of the intellectual intelligentsia, to raise our voice against injustice, against the violation of human rights and violation of human dignity, we call on the Ukrainian authorities to immediately stop the persecution of Orthodox believers and the forcible seizure of churches of the UOC.

We also ask official Kyiv to ensure strict compliance with the current Ukrainian legislation and international law regarding freedom of conscience and religion.

In addition, we appeal to European institutions and organizations for the protection of human rights, as well as to the entire world community, with an appeal to actively protect not only religious, but also the fundamental rights of members of the UOC. We invite them, first of all, to send their observers to critical points where persecution is already taking place, and to help in promptly taking measures aimed at ending persecution and administrative pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, its priests and parishioners. First of all, we are talking about maintaining the jurisdiction of the UOC over the Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and the Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra, which are great shrines for the entire Orthodox world.”