>> Iryna Farion/Open source
On Wednesday, May 29, the Lviv Court of Appeal decided to reinstate Iryna Farion as a professor of the Department of Ukrainian Language at the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Lviv Polytechnic.
NU “Lviv Polytechnic” is obliged to pay the average earnings for the period of forced absenteeism – 123 thousand 927 hryvnias in favor of the scientist. This was reported by the correspondent of Suspilny from the courtroom.
The lawyer of Iryna Farion called on the court to satisfy the appeal in full and cancel the decision of the court of first instance. The representative of the Lviv Polytechnic emphasized that the decision of the Halytsky District Court is legal, so it should be left unchanged.
Not a single document proves the moral misconduct committed by Iryna Farion. From which walkie-talkie was the quick release made? Why did the rector not wait for the work of the commission? The commission was supposed to finish its work on the 22nd, I was fired on the 15th. That is, the vice-rector contradicts himself. This means that he made this decision under pressure. I have no doubt under whose – under the pressure of the Ministry of Education and Culture, a specific person – Lisovyi. This is evidenced by his reaction – he is incredibly happy that Iryna Farion was released, Iryna Farion said.
Iryna Farion asked to annul the decision of the court of first instance, which recognized her dismissal as legal, to pay her the average salary for the entire missed period and to compensate for all legal expenses.
After the meeting, the appeals court partially satisfied the appeal complaint of Iryna Farion. In particular, he overturned the decision of the Halytsky District Court, decided to reinstate the linguist in her position and pay her 123,927 hryvnias and 27 kopecks of salary for forced absenteeism. In addition, the university must pay 5,782 hryvnias in court fees.
The court decided to reinstate Iryna Dmytrivna Farion as a professor of the Ukrainian language department of Lviv Polytechnic National University from November 24, 2023. Withdraw from Lviv Polytechnic National University in favor of Iryna Farion the average earnings for the period of forced absenteeism for the period from November 24, 2023 to May 29, 2024 in the amount of 123 thousand 927 hryvnias 27 kopecks. A court fee in the amount of UAH 5,782 17 kopecks should be collected from Lviv Polytechnic University, the judge of the Lviv Court of Appeal announced.
Iryna Farion reacted to the court's decision and said whether she plans to return to Lviv Polytechnic.
I am happy that law exists separately from politics. This means that we are moving in the right direction. It's not about me, it's about making the laws work, so that no one allows themselves to change these laws under the pressure of superiors. I thank the board of judges for the reasoned decision (…) I am thinking about it (about returning to Lviv Polytechnic, – ed.) There are a lot of forces that would like me not to return to the Polytechnic, and I really like to go against forces that don't like me – says Iryna Farion.
The decision of the appeals court can still be challenged in the Supreme Court. The representative of “Lviv Polytechnic” said that he is waiting for the full text of the decision, and then they will think about the next steps.
At the same time, the pre-trial investigation in the criminal case against Iryna Farion continues. She will be tried under four articles KKU:
- Art. 161 (violation of the equality of citizens depending on their racial, national, regional affiliation, religious beliefs, disability and on other grounds);
- art. 435-1 (insult to the honor and dignity of a serviceman, threats to a serviceman);
- Art. 163 (violation of the confidentiality of correspondence, telephone conversations, telegraphic or other correspondence transmitted by means of communication or through a computer);
- art. 182 (violation of privacy).
The Security Service of Ukraine initiated a psychological and linguistic examination of Farion's statements.
Details of the conflict:
It will be recalled that on November 15, 2023, the Lviv Polytechnic University terminated the employment agreement with Iryna Farion “for committing an immoral offense.” Before that, in an interview with journalist Yanina Sokolova, Iryna Farion expressed her thoughts about the Russian-speaking soldiers of the Azov regiment. She stated that she cannot call the military Ukrainians if they speak Russian.
These words caused a wave of indignation in social networks. In Lviv, students went to a rally demanding the dismissal of linguist Iryna Farion from Lviv Polytechnic. Farion also published a screenshot of an e-mail from a student from Crimea, who took her side in the language scandal, and did not hide his personal information.
After her release, Iryna Farion filed a lawsuit in court to challenge the decision of the management of the educational institution. However, on February 12, Farion lost the court case in the case of reinstatement as a professor at Lviv Polytechnic. Meanwhile, the Security Service of Ukraine initiated criminal proceedings under several articles of the Criminal Code and ordered a number of examinations regarding the linguist's statements and publications.