Supporters of the UOC-MP beat a journalist during a service: police have launched criminal proceedings

Law enforcement agencies have opened criminal proceedings in the case of an attack on freelance journalist Diana Lavryk. This incident occurred during a conflict in a church in Verkhni Stanivtsi, Chernivtsi region, as the Religious Information Service of Ukraine reported.

Diana arrived at the church to cover the first service after the community transitioned to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). She noted that she immediately introduced herself as a journalist, had her ID with her, and was recording the events.

“I immediately announced that I was a journalist and was filming what was happening. I wanted to record the service, but I was attacked by representatives of the UOC MP who broke into the church. They threw stones and sand in my face and at the camera. They were armed with sticks and spray cans. I also got gas in my face. After that, they started beating me with large sticks,” the journalist noted.

The woman emphasized that even at the moment of the beating, she tried to explain that she represented the media, but this did not stop the attackers. She reported that they pushed her, as a result of which she fell, and then they started pulling her hair around the territory of the temple, continuing to use physical force.

“I was saved by men from the OCU, who took me to the temple,” Lavryk recalls.

The situation only escalated when the attackers burst into the temple through the altar, launched gas from fire extinguishers, and pushed out the believers. “In the corridor, they beat us again with sticks, pulled me aside, pulled me by the hair, and tried to take away the equipment,” she added.

The police and an ambulance were called to the scene of the incident. Despite her injuries, Diana continued to film the events and wrote a statement about the attack. According to the journalist, she visited the church at the invitation of priest Father Roman Hryshchuk, who confirmed that thanks to her work, she managed to record the actions of supporters of the UOC-MP during the conflict.

Currently, the police are conducting investigative actions within the framework of criminal proceedings opened in connection with the attack on the journalist while performing her duties.