In Cherkasy, SBU and TRC abduct UOC eparchy's lawyer, media

SBU. Photo: hromadske.radio

It became known that on November 4, 2025, right under the courthouse, employees of the TRC detained the lawyer of the Cherkasy Eparchy of the UOC, Ihor Holubchik. According to the information from the Telegram channel "Dozor", the mobilization of the eparchy's defender was carried out under the direct management of the head of the "religious department" of the local SBU, Slabko.

The human rights defender was detained by the same employees who attempted to illegally detain the cleric of the Cherkasy Eparchy, Father Roman Harkavenko, and the head of the eparchial Legal Department in February 2025.

On that day, the court had just concluded the hearing of the case of LLC "Cherkassyenergosbyt" against the Cherkasy Eparchy of the UOC. The LLC is trying to recover a debt of 324,358.52 UAH from the eparchy, which was accumulated by raiders of the OCU in the seized St. Michael's Cathedral.

Members of Dumenko's structure did not pay for utilities all this time.

However, as "Dozor" reports, the most important thing in this situation is that "Cherkassyenergosbyt" is trying to impose the debt on the Cherkasy Eparchy, as according to the documents, it remains the owner of the shrine.

To conceal this fact, the city authorities and the LLC attempted to organize a court process in "simplified proceedings". The court justified this by the "insignificance of the case".

"It was precisely lawyer Holubchik who managed to achieve a comprehensive examination of the case. During it, the court will be forced to publicly acknowledge that the Cherkasy Eparchy of the UOC is the owner of St. Michael's Cathedral and the eparchial administration. This truth has become threatening for the marauders of the OCU and for the local SBU, which participated in the seizure," the message states.

As reported by the UOJ, in Cherkasy, the electricity was cut off at the UOC archbishop's residence over the OCU's debts.

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