Kiev, June 21, 2022
Photo: wikipedia.org
Orthodox author and poet Yan Taksiur was arrested by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on March 10, 2022, is being charged for treason in the Ukrainian courts, although the corresponding laws governing treason do not apply to civilians. There were no accusations made against him at the time of his arrest.
Yan Taksiur, opinion writer founder of the Ukrainian website First Cossack, has persistently defended the canonical Russian Orthodox Church of Ukraine (Moscow Patriarchate) from the Ukrainian state’s attacks against it.
At the time of his father’s arrest, Taksiur’s son Ilya commented in an article on Gazeta.ru that “the SBU’s motives defy all logic; my father is neither valuable nor dangerous to them. They made no comment, they just keep him behind bars and that’s it… He was never engaged in political analysis; his theme was always the Church. He openly wrote on the Internet that he considers the Russian and Ukrainian peoples brothers.”
Taksiur’s family has tried repeatedly to intercede for their father but to no avail. He was kept in prison without any access to his lawyer, who was likewise denied any documentation. There is also suspicion that Taksiur has cancer; however, he was denied hospitalization after he lost consciousness from pain in his isolation cell. Because of his condition he is supposed to be on medication, but has no access to his medication.
Taksiur’s daughter Mariko recently commented on her facebook page concerning her father’s court case, as the Union of Orthodox Journalists reports.
“My father is not a military man or a government representative, and he knows no military secrets. All he has is his word. Tell me, doesn’t a satirist in a democratic country in the twenty-first century have the right to express his opinion in his literary works?” Mariko said.
Taksiur’s daughter noted that her father has lived all his life in the Ukrainian land, loves his country and has no intention of leaving it.
Pre-trial psychological and linguistic expertise concluded that the satirist's literary works supposedly undermine Ukrainian sovereignty.
"We have never been able to figure out which of Dad's poems violate the sovereignty or threaten the integrity of Ukraine," the literary man's daughter said.
According to Mariko, Yan Taksiur believes that he was arrested for not criticizing the authorities but for dissent. He has always criticized the government’s anti-Church policies and actions, and spoken openly about the need for friendly relations between Ukraine and Russia.
The daughter of the Orthodox journalist announced a fundraiser for legal support during the trial. She added that her father is not discouraged, does not complain about his fate, and stands firm thanks to the prayers of his family and friends.
"We thank everyone in advance for their help and believe that God does not leave His people," said Mariko.
