On Wednesday, September 8, a man dressed as a priest led another man on a leash, saying that it was his dog «Adolf». The latter had his hands tied together. Yevhen Boiko, chief of the mayor’s department of Lviv City Council, reacted to the event on social media. Now, a lawyer and a psychologist explain in a comment to Tvoemisto.tv what consequences this situation can have.
«Today, in front of the Ratusha: a man dressed as a priest leads another man on a leash, calling him his «dog Adolf». When I asked him what he did, the answer was «It will always be so». I filed a complaint with the police about a similar incident several weeks ago – there’s still no answer. If it’s a kind of «art», it must have some purpose. As for me, there are signs of provocation here», – Yevhen Boiko stated on his Facebook page.
Svitlana Dobrovolska, a spokeswoman for the National police main department toldTvoemisto.tv that no one contacted the police hotline about this case. Thepolicemen are, however, conducting an inspection regarding Yevhen Boiko’s previous appeal, which was related to a similar incident.
«As for the current case, no one called the police hotline. Later, we’ll find out whether there were written appeals», – Svitlana Dobrovolska says.
A lawyer Oleh Mytsyk says that such actions of a man who walked on the Rynok Square in a priest’s cassock and led another man on a leash can be qualified as a violation of Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. It means an insult to the feelings of citizens depending on their race, nationality or religious beliefs.
«Such actions can have signs of violation – it means an insult to the feelings of citizens. Obviously, this person who walked on the Rynok Square in the image of a Christian priest and had other religious attributes can explain, what he does and for what purpose, or say that he has such an image. But it can be the subject for a formal examination of this situation. Police can react if there is an appeal, or react to the information from the social networks or mass media», – the lawyer explains.
At the same time, psychologist Anna Vereshchynska says that contemplation of such «spectacle» can have its consequences: young people can come up with the idea to follow it, and for those who experienced deep offences or violence, it can cause depressive feelings.
«Reaction depends on the spectator, his life experience. Everyone can have his associations, emotions that affect his behaviour. People who were the victims of violence can get depressed, fall into an acute negative state. If there’s no public reaction, it can «inspire’ others for something similar», – Anna Vereshchynska says.
She also suggests not to approach such provocateurs and not try to find out what they do, as you can put yourself in danger this way.
Let us remind that in the middle of August, a video was published on TikTok showing a man dressed as a priest who ran through the city centre and swore. The video was recorded on Prospect Svobody (Freedom Avenue). The man in a cassock moved along the avenue and deliberately whipped off a cap of a boy passing by, probably engaged in the same spectacle.. These actions were followed by swearing and offensive words.
Viktoria Savitska
Translated by Vitalii Holich
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