The Security Service of Ukraine have revealed new facts of the illegal activities of the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Pavlo (Peter Lebidya). The details of the following has been announced by the Security Service of Ukraine via their official social media handle.
While sharing the details about the following, SBU added that, “The metropolitan gave a video interview to one of the domestic mass media a day before the first suspicion was announced to him by the SBU. In it, he denied the existence of Ukraine as a sovereign state. The defendant also called the Russian armed aggression against Ukraine a “civil conflict” that has been ongoing since 2014.
A forensic linguistic examination initiated by the SBU confirmed these facts of the cleric’s criminal actions.
Based on the collected evidence, the investigators of the Security Service informed the Metropolitan about a new suspicion under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- Part 2 Art. 161 (violation of equality of citizens depending on their religious beliefs committed by an official repeatedly);
- Part 3 of article 436-2 (justification, recognition as legitimate, denial of armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine for repeated acts by an official).
Currently, the issue of choosing a preventive measure in the form of detention is being resolved. Investigations are continuing to establish all the circumstances of the crimes. Sanctions of the articles provide up to 8 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.
It is to be specifically mentioned that the investigation was conducted under the procedural leadership of the Kyiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.