Four court hearings on Metropolitan Arseniy held in one day in Dnipro
Court in Dnipro. Photo: Sviatohirsk Lavra
On November 3, four court hearings concerning Metropolitan Arseniy of Sviatohirsk were scheduled in Dnipro’s district courts, all on the same day. The press service of the Sviatohirsk Lavra reported the details.
The main hearing at the Sobornyi District Court, concerning the measure of restraint for Metropolitan Arseniy, began at 9:15 a.m. The previous session, held on November 2, lasted eight hours – from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The hierarch was present in the courtroom the entire time.
During the November 2 session, defense lawyers requested a postponement until Monday, arguing that the court’s office was closed over the weekend and they were unable to submit documents. After more than an hour of deliberation, the judge denied the motion.
Most of the session was devoted to examining the case materials. An attempt to view the video recording of Metropolitan Arseniy’s detention on October 28 initially failed due to technical issues – the video would not play. Only after a technician arrived around 4:30 p.m. was the recording finally shown.
At 6:00 p.m., the judge granted the defense’s request for a recess until the next day.
In addition to the continuation of the main hearing, three more court sessions related to Metropolitan Arseniy’s case were scheduled across different courts in Dnipro on November 3:
– At 10:00 a.m., the Shevchenkivskyi District Court held a hearing to correct a clerical error (a misspelled surname);
– At 10:30 a.m., the Chechelivskyi District Court reviewed a complaint from the defense regarding violations of Metropolitan Arseniy’s rights due to his unlawful detention since September 30 without any court ruling;
– At 1:30 p.m., the Sobornyi District Court was to consider a motion from the defense to have prosecutor Larysa Volodymyrivna Dalberh recused from the case.
At the time of publication, the outcomes of the hearings were not yet known.
Recall that Protodeacon Vadym Novynskyi has called the trial of Metropolitan Arseniy a blatant act of reprisal.
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