UOC MP Cherkasy Metropolitan's lawyers try to prevent Suspilne from filming the hearing

A Cherkasy court held another hearing regarding Metropolitan Theodosius of Cherkasy and Kaniv (Denys Snihiryov) of the UOC MP's Cherkasy Diocese today, on November 11. The defendant's lawyers requested that Suspilne be prohibited from filming the trial, reports the news outlet.

As Suspline Cherkasy journalist Anna Ishchenko said in her comment to Yelena Shchepak, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Cherkasy oblast, the court allowed the TV channel to proceed with the filming. However, the journalists were forbidden from filming the defendant's lawyers and the moment where audio material in the case was being played, at the request of the lawyers themselves.

The suspect in the case, Denys Snihiryov, was present at the hearing via video call, as he had a certificate from a medical institution saying that his health prevented him from attending in person.

The November 11 hearing. Photo by Suspilne Cherkasy/Anna Ishchenko

At the hearing, prosecutor Vadym Kolomiyets read the written case files. According to the prosecutor, statements by the victims saying that online resources affiliated with the UOC Cherkasy Diocese have posted content contributing to inter-religious enmity and justifying Russia's aggression against Ukraine had been added to the case. The prosecutor listed several statements and read excerpts from the diocese website.

The prosecutor also read aloud several excerpts from posts explaining of the UOC MP leadership's stance on the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the work of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine in general, their rules and canon.

In the next block of evidence, the investigators explained how the Cherkasy Diocese website is tied to Russia. Namely, they noted that switching to the Russian-language version of the website opened access to content criticizing the actions of Ukraine's authorities and special services, as well as saying that the "capture of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv" was illegal, according to the author of the article.

The prosecutor added that the articles were archived to preserve them in case they are taken down from the website, and screenshots from the website were added to the case files. In turn, the defendant's lawyer noted that the investigators used a VPN to access the Russian domain and investigate the articles. This, in his opinion, is a breach of Ukraine's law. The prosecutor responded that the records did not say whether or not the investigators had used a VPN.

During the examination of evidence, all envelopes with audio and video content are opened in the presence of the judge. The examination will continue at the next hearing, November 29.

The UOC MP Metropolitan of Cherkasy and Kaniv, Theodosius (Denys Snihiryov) is suspected of inciting religious enmity. On February 20, 2023, the SBU notified him of suspicion of inciting inter-religious enmity.

According to the investigation, the metropolitan has made public statements among clergymen and parishioners, as well as official comments, which contained calls that violate citizens' right to equality regardless of their racial, national, regional background and beliefs. Also, under his supervision, the administrator of the diocese's departmental website posted hostile content from the ROC's propaganda websites, such as patriarchia.ru and pravmir.ru.

A measure of restraint for Snihiryov has been chosen: nightly house arrest until December 2. On October 4, during another hearing in the case, the judge cut his curfew by two hours. The Metropolitan must be at home from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. the next day.

On October 17, the St. Michael Cathedral, where Theodosius previously served, joined the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.