The abbot of the Svyatogorsk Lavra was informed of suspicion of committing a criminal offense
Under the procedural guidance of prosecutors from the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the abbot of the Svyatogirsk Holy Dormition Lavra was reported on suspicion of justifying, recognizing as lawful, denying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and glorifying its participants (Part 1, 3 of Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The clergyman was taken into custody.
According to Suspilny, this is the Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) and the abbot of the Svyatogorsk Lavra in the Donetsk region, Arseny.
The investigation established that in May and June 2022, the suspect, during public speeches, denied the fact of Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine, accused the Armed Forces of Ukraine of the death of clergymen and a nun, as well as of the destruction of church buildings. The defendant faces up to 8 years in prison with confiscation of property.
As a reminder, on October 23, under the procedural guidance of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office, a trial was initiated against the same suspect for the fact of disseminating information about the location of Defense Forces units (Part 2, Article 114-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Initially, the court chose a preventive measure in the form of detention, but later the appeal court allowed the payment of bail in the amount of 1.5 million hryvnias, which the suspect paid. The pre-trial investigation and operational support are being carried out by employees of the Main Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
