Lawyers for the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have refuted statements made by Viktor Yelensky, head of the State Commission on Religious Affairs

A team of lawyers representing the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church issued an official statement in which it called the claims made by Viktor Yelensky, head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS), Viktor Yelensky, as baseless and discrediting. The conflict arose over recent public comments made by a representative of the government agency regarding ongoing legal disputes involving the Metropolis.

As Archpriest Nikita Chekman, a lawyer for the UOC, told , Mr. Yelensky’s statements that the lawyers’ actions are allegedly aimed “exclusively at preserving the subordination of the Russian Orthodox Church” are not supported by evidence and violate the constitutional right to judicial protection. The lawyers emphasize that their activities are strictly legal in nature and focused on verifying the legality of the DESS’s orders and decisions within the framework of eight ongoing court cases.

The lawyers’ statement notes that the public remarks by the head of the DESS could be viewed as an attempt to influence public opinion and discredit the professional activities of the defense attorneys before the court issues a final ruling. Representatives of the Metropolis emphasize that questions regarding the legality of the State Service’s activities and their compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine must be resolved exclusively within the legal framework, rather than through political assessments, and call on state authorities to refrain from comments that cast doubt on the independence of the judicial proceedings.

As a reminder, Viktor Yelensky, head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS), Viktor Yelensky, acknowledged that there is a risk the state could lose in international courts should the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) file a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).