Case of Valentyn Adamchuk: Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness (Mt 5:10)

[Yurii Sheliazhenko]

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:10)

Video: https://youtu.be/bSZECU___Ic

Valentyn Adamchuk, an Evangelical Christian, was wrongfully sentenced by the Darnytskyi District Court of Kyiv to 3 years in prison for a legitimate exercise of his right to conscientious objection to military service, which the court unfairly considered to be a crime of draft evasion during mobilization (Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Adamchuk's sentence contains a lie that the communists usually wrote in sentences of repressed Christians: religious beliefs cannot be a reason for "evading" military service. In his last words in court in 2025, Adamchuk read the poem "Not for Robbery" written by Kyiv pastor Georgi Vins and declamated for the first time in 1966 in his last words at the trial of Christians who were persecuted by the totalitarian regime.

Articles 4(2), 18(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights say that even in time of war no one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief, including that which requires conscientious objection to military service.

The 41st report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the human rights situation in Ukraine emphasizes that human right of conscientious objection to military service allows no restrictions or derogation in time of war, but domestic law in Ukraine unduly restricts this right. The report also reveals inhuman treatment, torture and imprisonment of conscientious objectors.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TRIAL

Judge Skuba:

Did Adamchuk explained why he objects?..

Military recruitment officer Soroka:

Yes, he said that he has religious beliefs that he cannot be called up for mobilization. As an option, he offered alternative service, but the law does not provide for alternative service during martial law.

Valentyn Adamchuk:

I didn't evade the draft.

I believe in the word of God, which freed me from the slavery of sin. And I am a preacher of the Gospel and I preach that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

I am not allowed to use weapons, to take an oath, to wear a military uniform. There is a creed of the Church.

I sent a request to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights and received a response that the Constitution of Ukraine and international treaties have higher legal force over other laws, so a right to alternative service, exemption from military service is absolute and cannot be limited due to the absence or non-regulation by laws of the procedure for its completion during martial law.

Judge Skuba:

The court sentences to the punishment of imprisonment for three years Adamchuk Valentyn Oleksandrovych, who is found guilty in crime of draft evasion during mobilization, according to Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

[Наталия Судникова]

пн, 17 февр. 2025 г., 15:37 Yurii Sheliazhenko <shely...@gmail.com>:

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