The court changed the pretrial detention order for Arseniy, the abbot of the Svyatogorsk Lavra
The Chechelivsky District Court of Dnipro has eased the pretrial restriction imposed on Metropolitan Arseniy, the abbot of the Svyatogorsk Lavra, who is accused of disseminating information about the locations of Ukrainian military units and justifying Russian aggression.
The court partially granted the defense’s motion and replaced round-the-clock house arrest with nighttime house arrest. From now on, the clergyman is required to remain at his place of residence from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., while he is free to move about during the day. The new preventive measure will remain in effect until August 11, 2026.
During the hearing, the defense cited the metropolitan’s health—he underwent heart surgery in the spring—as well as his lack of violations of the terms of his arrest.
Metropolitan Arseniy denies the charges and calls the accusations groundless.
As a reminder, the SBU detained the clergyman in April 2024. According to the investigation, during a sermon, he disclosed information about the locations of Defense Forces checkpoints in the Donetsk region. He was later also charged with justifying Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine. If convicted, he faces up to eight years in prison.
Source: Holy Dormition Svyatogorsk Lavra.
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