In Smyla, TRC officers detained a UOC priest, father of five children

In the city of Smela, Cherkasy region, employees of the Territorial Center for Manning and Social Support (TRC) detained a UOC clergyman. Despite the fact that he has a legal basis for deferment from mobilization as a father of many children, he is being held in the TSC building, refusing to accept supporting documents from his family.

According to Telegram-channel “First Cossack”, the incident occurred with the priest of Cherkassy diocese of the UOC Konstantin Volov. It is alleged that he was illegally taken to Smelyansky TRC. The basis for the deferment from service is the fact that Father Konstantin is the father of five children, and this information is contained in the state demographic register.

According to the source, the clergyman’s relatives arrived at the TRC and provided all the necessary documents confirming his status as a father of many children. However, the staff of the center refused to accept the papers and meet with the family of the detainee.

At the moment, the priest continues to stay in the building of the TRC. His relatives are at the scene and have called the police to resolve the situation. The publication also notes that this is not the first such case in Smela, and the author of the message regards what is happening as “systematic terror” against the priests of the UOC.

Earlier, the head of the international human rights company “Amsterdam & Partners LLP” Robert Amsterdam, representing the legal interests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, called the cases of forced mobilization of the UOC clergy “religious repression”. Amsterdam said that such situations are impossible in a truly democratic society.