The public figure and former People's Deputy lost the court case for reinstatement as a professor of the Ukrainian language department at the Lviv Polytechnic. She was fired after a speech scandal that broke out in November 2023. Farion made critical remarks about the Russian-speaking fighters of the Azov regiment who defended Mariupol.
The court upheld the university's decision, finding that her words could offend military personnel. They are considered inadmissible in the context of the struggle for the state language. This case highlighted the importance of language to national identity, but also showed that intolerance towards any group of persons, particularly on the basis of their language or nationality, cannot be acceptable.
The court also emphasized that Farion does not have a direct connection with the armed forces of Ukraine, therefore the resolution of the language issue in the military should be left to their discretion.
The Galician District Court of Lviv decided that in the current situation, all citizens of Ukraine should unite around the defense of the country and support the Armed Forces, and not publicly criticize military personnel. This became known from the court decision.
After the dismissal of Iryna Farion from the Lviv University, the Security Service of Ukraine initiated criminal proceedings and ordered a number of examinations regarding her statements and publications.
Criminal proceedings are opened under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Art. 161 (violation of the equality of citizens), Art. 435-1 (insult to the honor and dignity of military personnel), Art. 163 (violation of secrecy of correspondence), Art. 182 (violation of privacy).
The Security Service of Ukraine introduced a psychological and linguistic examination of Iryna Farion's statements.
In response to criticism of the Russian language among "Azov" fighters, ex-commander of the regiment Maksym Zhorin called on Farion to stop speaking out and draw the attention of law enforcement agencies to her actions.
