(en)

On March 15, at 12:00 in Uzhgorod took place third regular session of the trial of Father Dymitry Sidor, which is, in fact, a show trial in order to intimidate Ruthenian activists. The applicants - chairmen of Ukrainian nationalist organizations, who were also on the side of witnesses against Ruthenians, once again proved their utter incompetence on the part of the court case, in particular the lack of understanding of the Ruthenian issue. Galician nationalist Kucina, who had previously promised to the judge to be present at this session, to give evidence and produce documents, did not arrive. According to his representative, he was busy with celebrations. The main signatory of the denunciation against Father Dymitry, marginal and instigator of ethnic conflicts P. Fedaka, also continues to ignore court hearings.

At this time, as a witness for the prosecution, testified Ukrainian Galician Nationalist Cherepakha, a native of the city Stryj. He implied that all the information that he could give, he has drawn from anti-Ruthenian newspapers. Not one question he could answer clearly, and when the judge asked him whether he had heard appeals to alter the borders of Ukraine from Father Sidor, he forcedly replied, "I am not aware of such appeals".

Then the judge asked the witness, (literally), "Because this process is based on your denunciation, all of you must know and understand that we must either convict the defendant, or acquit him. Do you agree to arrive at the next hearing?" He said yes. Judge persistently asked the witness, "What else can you say?" When he heard the answer, "Nothing more", the judge openly hinted at the fact that the charges were fabricated after the denunciation of the nationalists, and in case the witness would stick to the above answers, the defendant would have to be acquitted.
When the judge asked Father Dymitry if he had any questions to the witness, he replied that since Cherepakha does not know anything, but signed a denunciation, what questions to him one might have?
The prosecution in court once again reasoned around invented in the prosecutor's office and the SSU charges of "Appeals to alter the State borders of Ukraine". The prosecutor, and partly the judge, diverted the witnesses, prompted phrases, asked questions to which they could respond positively, in order to build up their accusation. Witnesses themselves did not provide any information to substantiate the charges of the SSU.

Contrary to the informants-nationalists, the witnesses for the defence clearly confirmed in the court the fact that Ruthenians have never discussed border issues.

The court session on 15th of March and great responses of the defendant, Father Dymitry Sidor, confirmed the indisputable fact that the Subcarpathian Ruthenians, who have acquired the right to self-determination, have concise arguments to defend their rights and freedoms, and never dropped a single hint of anti-state sentiments. Ruthenians peacefully combat the implementation of their right to self-determination under international law. The new Ukrainian authorities would have to consider this fact, since Viktor Yanukovych would have to respond before the international community for the crimes of presidents Kuchma and Yushchenko against the Ruthenian nation. The next meeting will be held on April 19.

The judge gave the witness-nationalists enough time, so that they would be better prepared to give "the necessary evidence" with the help of the SSU and experts from Galicia.

16.2.2010: Information from the courtroom: Ukraine vs. the Ruthenian nation. On the 5th of February was held second session of the court on forged by the Security Council of Ukraine criminal case against spiritual leader of the Subcarpathian Ruthenians Father Dimytry Sidor. Yesterday to the trial were called the signatories of the indictment of the SCU on the basis of which was open so-called trial on separatism, criminal case number 499. Not everyone showed up at the court hearing. Fedaka and Fedorishin were not present among other signatories.

At the court hearing on February 5 were called experts from Kiev who conducted the expertise of the materials of the Ruthenian congresses, especially the Second European Congress of Subcarpathian Ruthenians. However, they defiantly refused to appear in court, and carried out their expertise even without a license.

Representatives of the Security Services believed that this counterfeit "expertise" would be overlooked. Now the experts themselves have already realized that the SCU has made them complicit in the crime against the Ruthenian people. Lawyers of the Archpriest Dimytry Sidor fully demonstrated the failure of the conclusions of experts, and their criminal intentions. In addition, Ruthenian lawyers conducted legal review of the Article 110 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and proved its inconsistency with international law. Article 62 of the Criminal Code of the Ukrainian SSR read as follows:
" The calls for the forcible overthrow or change of state and social system, as well as appeals or other actions aimed at violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine .."

It was subsequently replaced by the Article 110 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, where the word "forcible" was deleted, and now even a word, a hint, syllable, or an indirect reference to the separation from Ukraine is strictly punished. This is the Ukrainian absurd, which thus turned Ukraine into one big concentration camp.

Archpriest Dimytry Sidor is being tried only for what he, as a Ruthenian, who knows the principle that claiming unclaimed law does not violate the law, boldly demanded to recognize the right of the Ruthenian people to exist in their native land and to implement the results of the referendum of the 1.12.1991.

Only two witnesses were present in the courtroom. One of them was the head of the Transcarpathian nationalist organization "Svoboda" O. Kucina. At the judge's question: "Where in the Memorandum of the Second European Congress of Subcarpathian Ruthenians you saw an appeal to separatism, as written in your statement for the Security Services", he was unable to answer. He said that he was not prepared to answer, because he did not remember exactly what he wrote, and that he would be ready to present this information at the next meeting. His statement was the following: "I have personally been watching this man (F. Dimytry), very closely for a long time!" Father Dimytry asked him: "Are you an intelligence officer of the Ukrainian Secret Services?". He replied: "If I were an intelligence officer, investigating this case, you would have been already in prison".

The second signatory, the Ukrainian nationalist Kopolovich, the head of the organization “Svoboda” in Mukacheve City, wasn‘t brilliant either. He said that the Second European Congress of Subcarpathian Ruthenians was about "joining of the Transcarpathian region to Hungary, and that such a decision was approved".

He was amongst a group of 30 men prepared to disrupt the peaceful action of the Ruthenians and stated in the court that he saw a crowd of people, many flags and went with them in the Drama Theatre, where the Ruthenian Congress was held. He said that he took the brochures and went into the hall, where they sang the national anthem. Then he left.

The next morning he wrote a statement and brought all the documents to the SCU. At similar charges and on the testimony of people with rampant imagination and hate for Ruthenian nation, the SCU and prosecutors built their indictment.

By the way, Ukrainian citizen Kopolovich, nephew of the Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Jonathan Kopolovich (deceased), admitted that he had been reading newspapers in Ruthenian, and testified in the Ruthenian language, apparently

not having the knowledge of Ukrainian.
Accused Father Dimytry Sidor, when finished with the questions to him said: "God bless you!". To what he angrily replied: "I do not need your blessing!"
Based on such fake denunciations, nationalist organizations such as "Svoboda" brought up grossly fabricated criminal case number 499 against the Ruthenian nation, in the name of the Ruthenian priest Dimytry Sidor.

It is significant that the next court hearing is scheduled for 12:00, 15th of March,
the day when Galician illegal migrants and the nationalists attempted a coup in the Subcarpathian Ruthenia with the following prosecutions, and set up for the Ruthenians concentration camp "Dumen".