Estonia decides against declaring Russian Church a terrorist organization

Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Estonia. Photo: Eero Vabamägi

Estonia does not plan to declare the Russian Orthodox Church a terrorist organization, but the draft law concerns declaring the Moscow Patriarchate an accomplice to terrorism, said Estonian Minister of Internal Affairs Lauri Läänemets, according to Postimees.

"The only question is substantive ties with the Moscow Patriarchate. We prefer the church to do this (sever ties with Moscow) itself, take all necessary steps. We are ready to support the church and communities in every possible way," emphasized Läänemets.

He stated that the government's further plans involve discussing security threats directly with the EOC communities.

At the same time, representative of the Estonian Social Democratic Party, Deputy Jaak Aab, circulated a statement to his colleagues requesting signatures, condemning the Moscow Patriarchate for supporting the war. Initially, the draft statement mentioned recognizing the Moscow Patriarchate as an "organization supporting terrorism", but in the latest version, the wording "organization supporting military aggression" was used.

As the UOJ reported, on April 12, the Estonian Minister of Internal Affairs announced that he would initiate the recognition of the Moscow Patriarchate as a terrorist organization and intends to apply to the court to cease the activities of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Estonia.

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