Court orders police to open case on pressure against UOC lawyer

Archpriest Nikita Chekman. Photo: Priest's Telegram channel

The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv ruled the police's inaction unlawful and ordered that information about the crime against UOC lawyer Nikita Chekman be entered into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations, reports the UOC lawyer on his Telegram channel.

According to the materials of court case No. 761/36241/26, on August 26, 2026, Nikita Chekman called an investigative and operational team due to obstruction of his lawful legal practice. After the police arrived, the lawyer filed an official statement regarding the commission of a criminal offense by radical David Pshenychnyi, as provided for in Part 1 of Article 397 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine ("Interference with the activities of a defense counsel or representative of a person").

However, officers of the Shevchenkivskyi Police Department of Kyiv failed to enter information about the incident into the investigation register within the legally established 24-hour period. In connection with this, lawyer Vadym Rodzevych, acting in the interests of Nikita Chekman, challenged the inaction of law enforcement officers in court.

Having examined the case materials, investigating judge Antonina Kvasha granted the complaint and ordered the authorized persons of the Shevchenkivskyi PD of the GUNP in Kyiv to enter the relevant information into the register, initiate a pre-trial investigation, and provide the applicant with an official extract from the register within 24 hours.

"We hope for a fair investigation and prosecution of those responsible. Pressure on lawyers in a state governed by the rule of law is unacceptable," Nikita Chekman commented on the court's decision, calling on believers for prayer support.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Bar Association condemned radicals' pressure on the UOC lawyer.

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