Representatives of the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have been added to the list of political prisoners persecuted in Ukraine

The international organization “Club of National Unity,” which includes representatives of the Ukrainian political community who left the country due to political pressure, has published a list of political prisoners who have been detained or convicted in Ukraine for political or religious reasons. The list, which consists of 368 people, also includes representatives of the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This was reported by TASS.

It is reported that the list of politically persecuted citizens of Ukraine includes, in particular, 32 representatives of the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Among them, for example, are the abbot of the Holy Dormition Svyatogorsk Lavra, Metropolitan Arseny (Yakovenko), and the abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Pavlo (Lebid) of Chernobyl.

The initiative group of the “Club of National Unity” sent the list to world leaders, heads of human rights and religious organizations who are directly involved in the settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The appeal asks them to pay attention to politically persecuted citizens of Ukraine and to exert influence so that criminal cases, economic sanctions, and other legal restrictions against them are lifted.

Earlier, we reported that Ukrainian MPs Oleksandr Dubinsky and Artem Dmitruk sent an appeal to US President Donald Trump, in which, among other things, they asked him to ensure that the issue of protecting the rights of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was included in the peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. The MPs hope that during the meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska, the persecution of clergy and believers of the UOC will become one of the important points of negotiation.