Lawyers for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have initiated an investigation into the forcible detention of a priest in Lutsk

A team of lawyers representing the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has taken a series of decisive legal steps in connection with the incident in Lutsk, where TRC officers used force to detain Archpriest Ioann Kuzminsky, rector of the UOC’s Church of St. John the Merciful in the village of Lyubche. The purpose of these actions is to ensure an impartial investigation and to obtain a legal assessment of the violent detention, footage of which was previously published online. This was reported by Archpriest Nikita Chekman, a lawyer for the UOC.

As part of the effort to defend the cleric’s rights, Attorney Archpriest Nikita Chekman announced that complaints had been filed with the State Bureau of Investigations (GBR) and the National Police of Ukraine. The lawyers are insisting on the initiation of criminal proceedings under Article 146 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which classifies the actions of those involved in the detention as unlawful deprivation of liberty or kidnapping. The defense is demanding that the relevant information be entered into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations.

At the same time, the attorneys sent official requests to the Ministry of Defense and the Volyn Regional Territorial Center for Temporary Accommodation and Social Support, demanding clarification regarding the legality of the powers held by the balaclava-clad individuals who participated in the operation. A complaint was also filed with the Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights, calling for parliamentary oversight. According to Archpriest Nikita Chekman, lawyers are continuing to gather evidence, including interviewing witnesses and analyzing video footage, emphasizing that “no official is above the law.”

As a reminder, we previously reported that a high-profile incident occurred in Lutsk involving the forced mobilization of a clergyman of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) by employees of the local Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC).