Bitola, 01.06.2008

Subject : Request for the attitude of the Veles Public Prosecutor’s Office as
well as the Courts of Law having jurisdiction for dealing with the case No. C. 86/04 against the defendant His Beatitude kyr kyr Jovan Vraniskoski from Bitola

Filed by: Vasil Gjorgjiev, BL from Bitola, Macedonia, A-1/7 Scheherazade Mall, defence attorney

Honourable Madams/Sirs,

Criminal procedures had been conducted against the aforesaid Archbishop kyr kyr Jovan Vraniskoski for a long time now, that is for more that 5 years, or to be more exact, since he left the Macedonian Orthodox Church (hereinafter referred to as the “MOC”), and the proceedings of the case No. C. 86/04 is pending before the Court of First Instance in Veles, charges being ‘embezzlement’ upon Article 239 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Macedonia. Conducting of criminal procedures is nothing unusual, even if it is against an Archbishop, if the intention for his persecution and severe violation of the Constitution, the law and of the International Conventions and Protocols regarding human rights is not the issue here.

My capacity of defence attorney authorises me to protect the legal interests of my client, to prevent the law to be violated and to see for the Constitution, the laws and the International Conventions and Protocols regarding human rights to be implemented.
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This article was published by F18News on: 31 March 2008: http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1107

Macedonia’s new Religion Law – which comes into force on 1 May – is designed to prevent the Serbian Orthodox Church gaining legal status, church members have told Forum 18 News Service. It may also be used to discriminate against the Bektashi Muslim community. The Law names without defining three types of religious entities – a church, a religious community and a religious group. No official has been able to explain to Forum 18 what differences, if any, there may be between these entities. The Law also does not specify clear requirements for communities seeking legal status, or whether unregistered entities can have religious freedom. Amongst the information demanded for registration is the “Manner of expression of the religious affiliation and performance of the religious rites and rituals.” A spokesperson told Forum 18 that the Human Rights Ombudsperson was not involved in drafting the Law, “even though a draft law should be sent to the Ombudsperson’s office before it goes for voting.”

Macedonia’s new Religion Law – adopted in September 2007 and which comes into force on 1 May – is designed to prevent the Serbian Orthodox Church ever being able to gain legal status, church members and members of other Christian Churches have told Forum 18 News Service. The Law could also make it difficult for other smaller religious communities to gain legal status and does not specify clear requirements for communities seeking legal status.
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Today, 20 April 2007 His Beatitude, Archbishop of Ohrid and Metropolitan of Skopje kyr kyr Jovan was finally released from the prison “Idrizovo” in Skopje after the punishment period to a one-year imprisonment – as sentenced by a verdict of the Court of First Instance in Veles – was shortened. The Information Service of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric wishes a welcome to the Archbishop and thanks God for his wonderful providence.

source: www.poa-info.org

Maintaining the religious freedom is a fundamental right, and at the same time, a condition for the Republic of Macedonia in order to fulfill the criteria to join the Euro-Atlantic civilization currents. Unfortunately, Republic of Macedonia is continually violating the elementary religious freedoms of its own citizens and tax payers. In its last year report, the European Commission presented its attitude that “cases of violations of religious freedom exist” in its report (http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/key_documents/reports_nov_2006_en.htm). It also emphasized that the new law “should provide more liberal procedure for registering religious communities”.

According to the newest report of the Venice Commission, yet there are disputable items in the draft law of religious communities, especially at the point – registering religious communities. This report will be a subject of the following text.
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The Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor published the annual report on the situation with the respect of religious freedom in the Republic of Macedonia in the course of 2006.

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71394.htm

There is an impression that the greater art of the report has been dedicated to the denial of religious freedom to the citizens, members of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric.

R. Macedonia has religious prisoners.

The report deals with the imprisonment of His Beatitude, the Archbishop of Ohrid and Metropolitan of Skopje, k. k. Jovan implying that with the decision of the Supreme Court from February 2006, his prison sentence was reduced “which led to his release from prison, after which there were no cases of religious or political prisoners in the country”. We remind you that the Archbishop k. k. Jovan, after two releasing verdicts, has once again been put in prison, and the Macedonian Orthodox Church has once again filed a complaint against the liberating verdict reached regarding a third charge raised against him. The indicated proverbial corruption of the Macedonian judiciary is not subject to comment in this observation .

Police terror on religious freedom: the Macedonian Police demolishes a monastery, OSCE prevented from obtaining a copy of the decision based on which this demolition was carried out. Police conducts Bolshevist interrogations in Veles, Prilep…

Police coercion and denial of religious freedom may be noticed in the following quotation: “In October 2004 policemen demolished a small monastery that was being built by members of the “Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid” in Nizepole, near Bitola. The organization’s lawyer conceded that the monastery was being constructed without a permit but noted that other buildings in the area, also built without permits, were not destroyed. At the end of the period covered by this report, the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) was unable to obtain a copy of the decision by the competent ministry authorizing the monastery’s destruction.”
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Republic of Macedonia displays rigid violations of the elementary religious freedoms of its own citizens. In the country, the old communist law for registration of religious communities is in force, which by protecting the monopoly of a certain religious community is thoroughly incompatible with the European legislature. Archbishop kyr kyr Jovan is in prison after constructed trials. With not registering their church, putting a stamp on it in public, using the language of hatred and the persecutions with no court warrant, all the members of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric are persecuted and their cases are accepted by the court for human rights in Strasbourg.
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The Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), which includes representatives of the High Clergy of the dioceses of the Albanian, Antiochan, Bulgarian, Carpatho-Russian, Greek, Romanian, Serbian, Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church of America (http://www.goarch.org/en/archdiocese/organizations/scoba.asp) published an appeal on their web page for release from prison of Archbishop Jovan (http://www.scoba.us/news/newsdetail.asp?id=303).

In the appeal for release, fully given in the following text, the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas also condemns the imprisonment of Archbishop Jovan based on charges for which he was previously acquitted, and at the same time calls upon the government of the United States of America to facilitate the implementation of the release.

12/19/2006

Press Release
December 19, 2006

SCOBA HIERARCHS APPEAL FOR
ARCHBISHOP JOVAN’S RELEASE FROM PRISON
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Undoubtedly, the Orthodox Christians all around the world, consider Holy Mount Athos to be the topmost criterion in the spiritual life. As many learned people have noticed, Athonite monks of various nationalities and races for an entire second millennium give their authentic imprint on Orthodox Christianity. Many are the pilgrims who have experienced and express their firm belief that the Holy Spirit resides on the Holy Mount and that each meeting with an Athonite elder is contact with the God-seeing Moses.

The Holy Mount and its Holy Community (Kinotita), in Karyes, for a second time sends a letter of support to the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric. In the first letter, in February 2004, besides the expressed support, the Holy Kinotita dissociated itself from those who distanced themselves from the Orthodox Tradition of the Holy Mount while enrooting in the schism, and the second is from the end of Novemvber 2006, with the following letter, published in full.
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Protocol No. 186 dated on 11th of December, 2006
Idrizovo Prison, Skopje

TO
the Prime Minister
of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia
Mr. Nikola Gruevski

Your Excellency,

At the beginning of the now passing year, that is almost a year ago, we have appealed to Your institution with a letter N. No. 1 dated on 3rd of January, 2006 pleading You with pain and crying in exhaustion for an aid in stopping the injustice, persecution and torture of the members of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric. Motive for the aforesaid letter was the announcement of entering into parliamentary procedure the Bill of the Law on Religious Communities and Groups. As we had some specific remarks to more articles of the aforesaid Bill, we had communicated them to You in the letter.

However, the previous parliamentary majority did not introduce the Bill of the Law on Religious Communities and Groups for adopting by the Parliament. Although passing of the aforesaid Law was among the short termed priorities assigned by the Council of Europe, more than a year has passed since publishing of the report on the principals, priorities and conditions being integral part of the European partnership with the Republic of Macedonia and the legislative authorities have not passed yet a law applying the recommendations on compatibility with the legislative of the European Union, as well with the International declarations dealing with human rights and freedoms.
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SYOSSET, NY [OCA Communications] — In a letter dated December 1, 2006 and addressed to Nikola Gruevsky, Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, expressed his deepest concern for His Eminence, Archbishop Jovan of Ohrid, who recently was imprisoned for the second time.
(http://www.oca.org/News.asp?ID=1118&SID=19).

In the 1960s, the Orthodox Church in the Macedonian Republic unilaterally declared itself autocephalous, thereby breaking communion with the Serbian Patriarchate and the world’s Orthodox sister Churches. The schismatic Macedonian Church has maintained a bitter dispute with the Serbian Church over the patriarchate’s presence in the republic.

The patriarchate’s Archbishop Jovan, who broke ties with the schismatic Church in Macedonia and returned to the patriarchate a several years ago, has been the target of anti-patriarchate parties and civil authorities. He was first arrested in July 2005 and sentenced to 18 months in prison in Skopje for allegedly “inciting national, racial, and religious hatred, schism, and intolerance.” He was subsequently released until his most recent imprisonment.

The text of Metropolitan Herman’s letter, a copy of which was also sent to His Holiness, Patriarch Pavle of Servia, reads as follows.
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At the beginning of November, in the United States of America, an Internet petition was started for liberation of His Beatitude, the Archbishop of Ohrid and Metropolitan of Skopje, kyr kyr Jovan from the prison in Idrizovo (http://www.petitiononline.com/3001sd/petition.html).

Republic of Macedonia is the only country in the civilized world which displays rigid violation of the religious freedoms of its own citizens. Archbishop Jovan is still in prison and the state refuses to register the existence of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric.

However, people from around the world, who care about the most basic principles of the free and democratic world, with the voice of reason, peace and good will, sign the Internet petition for liberation of Archbishop Jovan and reinstatement of the violated religious freedoms in the Republic of Macedonia.

So far the petition has been signed by nearly 5000 citizens (with different religious and national origins, among which there are Bishops, doctors, priests and eminent intellectuals), from different countries: the United States of America, Bulgaria, Sweden, Brazil, Canada, Australia, China, Serbia, Great Britain, Greece, Russia, Macedonia, Hungary, Germany, Slovakia…

Links to the petition have been published on several web sites. After completion of the Petition signing, the Petition together with the request for the Republic of Macedonia to cease the persecution and imprisonment on religious basis of its own citizens and to register the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric, will be sent to the American State Department, to the seat of the European Union in Brussels, to the Government of Germany as forthcoming President of the European Union, to the Government of the Republic of Macedonia and the other relevant international institutions.

The petition is ongoing.

IC/XC

NI/KA

The Archbishop Jovan Fund USA

Very Reverend Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes, President

2618 West Bannock Street

Boise, Idaho 83702

USA

Telephone 208-345-6147 Email: father@serfes.org

Fax: 208-345-6147

Fax: +389-2311-2561

3 November 2006

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevksi
Bul. Illinen bb
1000 Skopje
Republic of Macedonia FYROM

Dear Mr. Prime Minister Nikola Gruevksi,

Humbly I greet you with the peace and love of our Lord God, and I pray all is well with you!

I am at this hour addressing you Mr. Prime Minister, and to the Good citizens of your beloved Macedonia FYROM.

I place before you this request and to all the good citizens of your beloved Macedonia (FYROM) on behalf of myself and many, many other concerned Americans that you reconsider the second sentence imposed on His Beatitude Archbishop Jovan of Ohrid, Metropolitan of Skopje, and release him immediately.

I write this appeal not only as President of the Archbishop Jovan Fund USA, but also as a simple Orthodox Christian who grows increasingly concerned at the unfortunate message sent out to all the world when Christians persecute other Christians over disputes involving territorial jurisdictions.

Make a choice, if you are a person of good will, to whom are important the most basic principles of the free world, and with your signature of this petition, which you can read bellow this text, and in that way you will make your contribution, toward realization of civil rights, or just be a passive observer.

Every your signature is of the priceless value, while a Christian church dignitary at the beginning of the 21 century resides in prison cell, as a defendant of Orthodoxy. And while Archbishop Jovan is praying for whole world, under inhuman conditions in the prison of Idrizovo in Republic of Macedonia, your voice against this crimes is very important now, at this very moment.

“If you do all you can, do it what is needed!”

Click Here to Sign Petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/3001sd/petition.html

Recently, the deputy of the assistant secretary in the American Bureau for European and Euro-Asian questions, Rosemary di Carlo, was staying in a working visit in Republic of Macedonia.

She pointed out unambiguously that the obligations which Republic of Macedonia should fulfill so as to become a candidate for membership in NATO are the following: judicial reforms, fight against corruption, fight against human trafficking, and respecting the religious freedoms and rights of all citizens.

This information has been broadcast by all Macedonian media (for example, A1 TV, News, 25. 10. 2006; Dnevnik, 27. 10. 2006…).

The weekly Macedonian magazine with the biggest circulation”Fokus”, in its newest issue (number 591), has published its attitude about the incoming obligation of Republic of Macedonia:

“One of the conditions for entering NATO, was the guarantee for religious freedoms. The whole farce in the organization of MOC and Macedonian politics connected with the image and work of bishop Jovan is contained in this poor information…

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The statements made by the bishop of MOC, Agatangel are dangerous as for the state, so for MOC, since they stir religious hatred, declared the judge Valentin Zafirov.

It is being confirmed that Archbishop Jovan and the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric do not stir and spread religious hatred, but MOC does.

“Macedonian orthodox church” (MOC), residing in doctrinaire and liturgical disunity with the local orthodox churches, has caused religious hatred and intolerance on a large scale with its statements and acts many times before. At a request by MOC, Archbishop Jovan is in prison today, and the state forbids registration of a religious group, represented by those citizens who do not wish to belong to MOC!

At a request by MOC, with no court warrant and time limit for moving their residences, Archbishop Jovan and the monks of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric, which is in doctrinaire and liturgical unity with the local orthodox churches, were expelled. At a written request by a bishop of MOC, a church belonging to the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric in the village Nizepole was demolished. Finally, after the charges brought in the Macedonian courts against Archbishop Jovan, today Republic of Macedonia is famous for being a lone country in Europe, depriving its own citizens of religious freedom, and for putting in prison a religious person, a Prelate of a local orthodox Church-Archbishop Jovan, who is a political prisoner for many.
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I have an impression that the entire Orthodox youth in Macedonia has left the MOc.

I saw that the Ohrid Archbishopric does not present a peril to the Macedonian state.

Using the language of the world, MOc makes the best marketing propaganda for the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric.

Recently Professor Yuri Maximov from Moscow stayed for a few-day visit in R. Macedonia, in a visit to the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric.

As it was previously published on our Internet page, Mr. Yuri Maximov is a lecturer on the Moscow Spiritual Academy (on Religious Studies) and at the Orthodox University “Saint Tikhon’ (on Islamology). He is a participant of the Synodial group of the Patriarchate of Mosocow, which is responsible for preparing an official concept for the relationship of the Russian Orthodox Church with the other religions.

He came to R. Macedonia so that he would get informed about the imprisonment of His Beatitude, the Archbishop of Ohrid and Metropolitan of Skopje kyr kyr Jovan, and learn about the conditions in which the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric operates.

In continuation we publish the positions stated by professor Yuri Maximov, during his stay in R. Macedonia, for the internet presentation of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric.

The previous Macedonian government, under the pressure of the schismatic bishops of the MOC, through politically manipulated court proceedings, incarcerated Archbishop Jovan in the prison “Idrizovo”. How do you, as an Orthodox Christian, look upon this behavior of the state towards Archbishop Jovan and the Church whose head he is?

I received the information of the re-imprisonment of His Beatitude, Archbishop Jovan with a great grief in the heart. No reasoning man can behave calmly in the face of such injustice. As many Orthodox Christians in Russia, I too, pray for the release of Archbishop Jovan. The persecutions managed by the MOc against the Ohrid Archbishopric are the biggest mistake the schismatics could have made. All know that the Apostles, as disciples of Christ, did not oppress anyone, but they themselves were oppressed. The Apostle Paul, who also suffered illicit arrests, had written “emulate me, just as I emulate Christ”. After the arrest of Archbishop Jovan, it is clear who in Macedonia emulates Apostle Paul and who is the true disciple of Christ, and who emulates His persecutors.
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A New Number of the American Periodical “The Orthodox Word”

Recently (February 2006), during a visit of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric hieromonk Damascene (Christensen) from St. Herman of Alaska monastery, California, USA was staying in the Republic of Macedonia.

Among monastic activities, hieromonk Damascene is known to the public by his exclusively remarkable book about father Seraphim Rose, with its title “His Life and Works”. The book is translated in many languages, among which are: Russian, Greek, Serbian, Bulgarian.

The St Herman of Alaska monastery prints the famous magazine “The Orthodox Word”, which presents the report by hieromonk Damascene on his visit of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric, in its newest number.
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Archimandrite Nektarios (Serfes) is staying on a two-day visit in Republic of Macedonia. Despite of having problems by the Macedonian police (his American passport was kept and examined at the police station, when entering our country), he speaks optimistically about better times, which are expected by the citizens of Republic of Macedonia.

Archimandrite Nektarios (Serfes) from American Archdiocese of the Patriarchate of Constantinople is familiar to the Macedonian public with his recent statement, given by a telephone call for “Channel 5”, TV from the USA.

He, as “Channel 5” broadcast (News, 05.09.2006), compares the arrest of Archbishop kyr kyr Jovan with the atmosphere in the former communist block.

“We are talking about a God’s man who serves the Church and this is a scandal for many people in the world, including America; putting an Archbishop in prison. We have not heard of such a thing. We heard of such things at the times of communism in Russia and other communist countries”, declared Archimandrite Nektarios.

“Channel 5” added: “Nektarios is asking the Macedonian authorities to allow registration of the Jovan’s church. Thus, he is sending his appeal to the new elected Prime Minister, expecting him to solve this question”.
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After the founding of the new Macedonian Government with the Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski at the head, the first protests against the imprisonment of Archbishop kyr kyr Jovan (John) VI, and against the state persecution of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Ohrid began to arrive.

In the Severe Protest, (http://www.ecclesia.gr/greeknews/default.asp?id=892) at the official Internet presentation of the Church of Greece, an emergent release of Archbishop kyr kyr Jovan (John) VI and respect of the freedom of religious beliefs of the ctizens, members of Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric have been demanded, as a condition for the European processes of integration.

A protest for Archbishop of Ohrid by the Synod 1/9/2006

On August 30, 2006, the Holy Synod has expressed a severe protest against the new unjustified persecution and imprisonment of Archbishop of Ohrid k.k. Jovan by the state authorities of Skopje.

Holy Synod in the suitable Announcement requires an emergent release of the Hierarch Jovan, thus stating the following: “disallowed behaviour of endless persecutions of the Canonical Archbishop Jovan, against whom charges deprived of logical and objective ground are constantly brought, for which the verdict of innocence has already been reached, and the deprivation of his personal freedom are a clear breaking of the human rights and impermissible deprivation of free practising of his duties as a religious Cleric; a fact making the integration of the state of Skopje not easier but more difficult, in the efforts for its European perspective.

In addition, this makes the following unstable: the necessaries for societal embodiment - prosperity and the progress of the state, also the confidence of the laymen – citizens, representing the Orthodox community of the lone internationally recognized and canonical orthodox Church, in the continuing and certain functioning of the law, thus causing a sharp and serious wound to the state inclinations for maintaining the legal system, for maintaining the human rights and freedom of the citizens, which represent a fact for leaving the European grants determined by the international law and agreed conventions…”

Source: Informative Service of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric (www.poa-info.org)