Raid at a Mosque: the Ombudsman’s Position

At the briefing on the raid after the Kyiv ICC mosque parishioners (on 31 January 2020), held at Information Agency “Ukrainski Novyny” on 3 February, the official position of Ukrainian Ombudsman, Ms.Liudmyla Denisova, was announced. Deputy Ombudsman Mr.Ismail Khalikov was present at the briefing despite being on vacation, yet the honour of reading the Ombudsman’s address, our of respect, was given to Head of Crimean Tatar Mejlis, Mr.Refat Chubarov.

The Ombudsman wrote (translated to English):

“I condemn holding any raids or checkups by the law enforcement and the Migration Service during religious service.

It is known that on 31 January in Kyiv, officers of the National Police and State Migration Service carried out an ID checkup after the Friday prayer at the mosque of “Alraid” Islamic Cultural Centre.

In the course of the checkup, 15 foreigners were detained.

According to Article 1 of the Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organisations”, the State guarantees the right for freedom of conscience to the citizens of Ukraine and for enjoying this right according to the Constitution, the Declaration on State Sovereignty of Ukraine, and provisions of the International Law ratified by Ukraine, as well as for social justice, equality, and protection of rights and lawful interests of the citizens regardless their religious views.

For this cause, I sent respective acts to Heads of the National Police and The State Migration Service.

Respect for the detainees’ rights is taken under my personal control.”