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Artyom Dmitruk claims his life is in danger due to his opposition to Kiev’s crackdown on Ukraine’s largest Christian denomination
A Ukrainian lawmaker who fled the country has contested a request for his extradition in a UK court. Artyom Dmitruk, who is a Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) deacon, claimed on Tuesday that he had to flee due to his public opposition to the Kiev government’s crackdown on the country’s largest Christian denomination.
Dmitruk, who left Ukraine in August, said he is being targeted with criminal charges for criticizing a law effectively banning the UOC, which was historically part of the Moscow Patriarchate, over what Kiev claims is its alleged subservience to Russia.
“Right now there is a political persecution going on against me and my family, against myself for my political views and my support for the UOC,” he told The Independent ahead of his appearance at the courthouse.
The preliminary hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court went in Dmitruk’s favor. He retained his freedom, he said in a brief statement following the proceedings, adding “thank God for everything.”
According to Ukrainian journalist Anatoly Shariy, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and Prosecutor General Andrey Kostin have personally contacted UK officials to ask them to accelerate the case.
Dmitruk claims that his life was in danger in Ukraine. He previously alleged that his family was surveilled in Europe in a possible kidnapping plot.
Speaking to The Independent, he said he illegally crossed the Ukrainian border with Moldova and spent some time in Italy before reaching the UK. The British government has been providing him with security, he added.
Last week Ukrainian journalist Diana Panchenko published a report about threats against Dmitruk made by radical nationalists, in whch she alleged that a “bounty” on his head is linked to the Kiev government.
She claimed that former MP Andrey Lozovoy, who publicly offered $250,000 for “an ashtray with the remains” of Dmitruk, had approached one of the latter’s former assistants.
He was seeking information that could be used to publicly humiliate Dmitruk and details of his whereabouts, Panchenko claimed, sharing tapes of the purported conversations. Lozovoy later put the source in touch with a Ukrainian counterintelligence officer, she alleged.
Dmitruk has endorsed the reporting and claimed that the plot against him could be traced to the top of the Ukrainian government and as far as Vladimir Zelensky personally.
