The court extended the term of detention in pre-trial detention center for the vicar of Svyatogorsk Lavra

On October 8, 2024, during a regular preparatory hearing in the case against the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the abbot of the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra, Metropolitan Arseny (Yakovenko), the Sloviansk District Court decided to leave the bishop in custody for another two months. The motion to extend Metropolitan Arseniy’s detention in the pre-trial detention center was filed by the prosecutor who is involved in the trial. This is reported by the official website of the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra.

“The hearing of the case began with the prosecutor’s announcement of a motion to extend the period of detention of Bishop Arseny. For unknown reasons, the court once again gave the prosecutor an unjustified advantage in considering the motion. At the same time, the previously filed motions of the defense — in particular, more than a month ago — remain unexamined. Another surprising fact was that at the beginning of the meeting, the presiding judge ignored the absence of one of the lawyers and began to hear the prosecution’s motions without his participation, thus depriving the defense of the opportunity to fully express their legal positions on challenges and other issues,” — the press service of the Lavra reported.

The Sviatohirsk Lavra stated that the judge acted biased throughout the hearing, which already suggested that the preventive measure against Metropolitan Arseny would be extended.

“At this meeting, the court once again refused to view the video of Metropolitan Arseny’s sermon, which he is accused of committing and which actually shows the absence of the elements of the charged offense in the actions of the bishop. At the beginning of the hearing, it was obvious what decision the court would make on the prosecutor’s motion. The court extended Metropolitan Arseny’s detention for another 60 days. The decision was made ignoring the statements of eleven Ukrainian MPs who asked the court to release the abbot of the Lavra on bail or to set the amount of bail. The defense is currently preparing an appeal to overturn the court’s decision,” — the press service added.

Earlier, Metropolitan Jonathan (Yeleckykh) of Tulchyn and Bratslav spoke about the charges brought against him by the courts in Ukraine and why he was actually sentenced to prison. The bishop said that among the charges, he was even charged with a church-analytical publication that he wrote in 2022.