Court allows medical treatment for Metropolitan Arseniy in pretrial detention center

On September 10, 2025, the Slavyansk City District Court of Donetsk Region held another preparatory hearing in the case of Metropolitan Arseny of Svyatogorsk, a hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. During the hearing, the judges allowed the bishop to undergo medical examination and treatment in the detention center. This was reported by the press service of the Svyatogorsk Lavra.

It is reported that during the hearing, the court began considering the defense’s motions, which were filed back in June of this year. In particular, they requested that the indictment be returned to the prosecutor due to its non-compliance with the requirements of criminal procedure law. The court denied the lawyers’ request, supporting the prosecutor.

At the same time, the court granted the defense’s motion to restore Metropolitan Arseniy’s rights to medical care, obliging the Dnipro pre-trial detention center, where the abbot of the Svyatogorsk Lavra is being held, to take measures to ensure that the bishop receives a medical examination and proper treatment. Although Metropolitan Arseny requested that the measures be carried out under the supervision of Ukrainian MPs, his request was ignored.

Earlier, Metropolitan Longin (Zhar) of Banchen, a hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, published an appeal requesting the assistance of international lawyers in connection with the fact that Ukrainian courts are imposing discriminatory conditions on the bishop, in the context of which a fair consideration of legal claims against him is not possible.