Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra archdeacon to be tried for breaking Suspilne's camera
On April 11, law enforcers submitted an indictment against the minister of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra of the Holy Dormition to the court for breaking the Suspilne filming crew's camera. This was reported by the press office of the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office.
The minister is charged with intentionally obstructing the legal professional work of journalists (Part 1 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The indictment against the suspect has been submitted to the court for an assesment of its merits.
According to the material of the proceedings, on March 30, 2023, journalists from Suspilne were filming a report on the premises of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. A representative (archdeacon) of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra of the Holy Dormition approached the cameraman, grabbed the microphone, broke the video camera mount, and threw it on the ground. The operator was unable to work after that.
The sanction of the article provides for a fine of up to 50 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens, up to six months of arrest, or restriction of freedom for up to three years.
As the IMI reported, on March 30, Metropolitan of the UOC MP Pavlo Lebid tried to knock the microphone out of the hand of "Espreso" correspondent Valeria Pashko while speaking to journalists at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
On April 3, the Kyiv police issued a suspicion notice to the UOC MP priest who damaged the media crew's equipment on the premises of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
Also, a UOC MP priest shoved Suspilne correspondent Daria Nematian Zolbin as she tried to ask Metropolitan Pavlo a question, and broke the camera mount of cameraman Viktor Mozgovy.
A person in a cassock damaged the phone charger cable of "Telegraf" photoreporter Yan Dobronosov in the jostling at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, involving UOC MP Metropolitan Pavlo Lebid.
On the same day, March 30, 2023, Kyiv police opened a criminal case for obstructing journalistic work on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
Ukrainian media organizations called on law enforcement bodies to objectively and impartially investigate the bullying of journalists that occurred near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra on March 30 and bring the perpetrators to justice.
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