Metropolitan Jonathan appeals sentence to Supreme Court

Metropolitan Jonathan in court. Photo: Press Service of the Tulchyn Eparchy

The former head of the Tulchyn Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Jonathan (Yeletskykh), through his lawyer, filed a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court against a sentence imposing five years of imprisonment. This was reported by Glavcom, citing the court registry.

The Supreme Court requested the criminal case materials from the Vinnytsia City Court for the cassation review. To recall, on August 7, 2023, the Vinnytsia Court found the metropolitan guilty of four articles of the Ukrainian Criminal Code: violation of citizens' equality, justification of Russian armed aggression, calls for the violent overthrow of the constitutional order, and dissemination of materials calling for changes to Ukraine's borders.

Metropolitan Jonathan was sentenced to five years in prison with property confiscation. In June 2024, the Vinnytsia Appeals Court upheld this decision.

As reported by the UOJ, on June 22, 2024, at the request of Patriarch Kirill and following negotiations, Metropolitan Jonathan of Tulchyn and Bratslav was released and transferred to Russia via exchange.

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