The Pechersk District Court of Kyiv extended the preventive measure in the form of round-the-clock house arrest of Metropolitan Pavlo (Lebid) of the UOC MP until January 29, 2024.
This is reported by "Suspilne" from the courtroom.
The prosecution asked to extend Pavlo Lebidʼs pretrial detention and impose obligations on him to appear before the prosecutor, as well as not to communicate with witnesses.
The prosecutor said that Pavlo Lebid could influence witnesses and victims and commit new offenses, so he asked to extend his house arrest for 60 days.
Pavelʼs lawyers claimed that the judge was ignoring the defenseʼs request, and added that the hearing was being held during an emergency. They asked for the recusal of the judge. The court did not satisfy the request of the lawyers.
Meanwhile, the metropolitan said that he "was never on the side of Russian aggression" and did not treat other denominations with disrespect.
"I am insulin-addicted, the prosecutorʼs office wiretapped me, they forced me to sign that I am not insulin-addicted. I am against what the prosecutors are asking for," he added.
Metropolitanʼs matter
On April 1, 2023, the SBU charged Metropolitan Pavlo with inciting religious enmity, and on the same day , the court sent him under house arrest. Pavlo was banned from accessing social networks and ordered to wear an electronic bracelet.
In July, the SBU informed Pavlo about a new suspicion. On the eve of the announcement of his first suspicion, he gave an interview in which he denied the existence of Ukraine as a sovereign state. The metropolitan called the Russian aggression a "civil conflict". Now he is accused of violating the equality of citizens and justifying the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, for which he faces up to 8 years in prison with confiscation of property.
On July 14, the court of Kyiv changed the preventive measure of Metropolitan Pavlo of the UOC MP — instead of 24-hour house arrest, he was ordered to be kept in custody until August 14, or to be bailed for more than 33 million hryvnias. On August 9, it became known that a bail of 33 million hryvnias was paid for Metropolitan Pavel, and he was released from custody. The Security Service of Ukraine stated that this will not affect the fair trial of the case. Later, the lawyers stated that Pavlo was diagnosed with an acute myocardial infarction.