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Court extends house arrest of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra’s vicar by two months — media

On April 1, the Security Service of Ukraine charged Metropolitan Pavel with inciting religious hatred and justifying Russia’s actions

MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. A district court in Kiev has extended the round-the-clock house arrest of Metropolitan Pavel, of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), the head of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, by two months, the Ukrainian media resource Strana has said.

It also published a video in which the judge reads out the sentence to Metropolitan Pavel.

On June 29, lawyer Nikita Chekman, who represents the UOC’s interests, said that in late May, Metropolitan Pavel’s arrest had been extended until July 1.

At the end of March, the authorities broke the lease of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra with the UOC and demanded that the monks leave the monastery. The monks of the UOC refused to obey the illegal demands. Both sides appealed to court. On April 1, the Security Service of Ukraine charged Metropolitan Pavel with inciting religious hatred and justifying Russia’s actions. A search was conducted in the rooms on the territory of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra where he resided. On the evening of April 1, the court sentenced the monastery’s vicar to house arrest for 60 days.

Metropolitan Pavel had asked the judge to let him stay in the monastery or allow him to attend religious services in Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, but the court rejected the request and obliged the vicar to stay under arrest with an electronic bracelet far away from the monastery at his place of residence in the village of Voronkov, the Borispol district of the Kiev Region.