Truth in a сage: Unjust trials for Orthodox journalists

The editorial office of our website received a letter through a lawyer from Valeriy Stupnitsky, an Orthodox journalist, who is currently in pre-trial detention. We are publishing the text written by our colleague in its entirety, uncut and in the author's own words.

Behind the scenes of the judicial system

An ordinary person may only see courts in the news on television or on the internet. Some criminals sit in a glass booth, and fair judges deliver fair verdicts to them. But few imagine what happens "from the inside".

The night before the trial, late in the evening, the "longitudinal" comes into the cell and announces the name of the person who has a hearing the next day. Early in the morning, you must be ready. They take you out of the cell and lead you to the "boxes" – a room without windows, about 3 square meters, a kind of detention room where detainees are gathered before being transported to the courts. After waiting for half an hour to an hour, you are searched and then led out of the pre-trial detention center, where the escort awaits, conducting another search. In case of "enemies of the people", the escort is conducted by the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine), for "non-political" articles – by the police. You are loaded into a "minibus" with tiny closed booths.

Upon arrival at the court, you are handcuffed and taken to a cage where you are held until the hearing begins. If the court is scheduled for 4:00 PM or 5:00 PM, you will wait for 6-7 hours. During breaks and after the end of the trial, you are led back in handcuffs, where you wait for several more hours before you get delivered 'home'. If you need to use the toilet – again familiar handcuffs behind your back and the 'caring' hand of the escort on your elbow. After arriving back at the pre-trial detention center, you end up again in the "boxes" for an hour or two. And only after that do you return to your cell. On average, about 8-9 hours of continual stress.

Conditions of confinement (or rather, their absence)

On June 4, there was supposed to be a court hearing to extend the investigation for us, UOJ journalists, and Father Serhiy Chertylin, for another three months. In the Solomiansky Court, the waiting cells for detainees, located along the wall, resemble vertical coffins, no bigger than a dog kennel – approximately 50x50 cm. You could either sit or stand there.

There was no room for any movement. I was overcome by a wave of claustrophobia – I realized that I physically couldn't stay here, and a panic attack ensued. I asked the escort if I could walk around the room in handcuffs – but I was denied. Since I was on the verge of losing consciousness, the escort moved me to the neighboring cell, which was longer, where I could take a couple of steps. I walked around, feeling a bit better.

After 6 hours of waiting, we were taken to the courtroom. There, our lawyers reasonably requested the judge and the prosecutor to recuse themselves. At the entrance to the hall, my beloved wife "ambushed" me and managed to kiss me. As we were leaving the hall, the escort roughly pushed her away. Nevertheless, this small joy that I received from her was very comforting. Volodymyr Bobechko's wife tried to shake his hand, but the guard rudely rebuked her. Apparently, he believed that his wife's touch posed a serious national security threat.

Violation of the right to a fair trial

The next day, June 5, I was supposed to have an appellate court hearing regarding the measure of restraint. I prepared arguments hoping to persuade the judge to release me on house arrest. Imagine my surprise when the escort brought me not to the appellate court, but to the same Solomiansky Court that was supposed to consider extending the investigation for another 3 months. As it later turned out, this was a personal directive from the investigator.

The appellate court judge told my wife that the investigator forbade bringing me there. Moreover, we weren't even brought to any hearing. After spending several hours in the coffin-like cells, we were taken back to the pre-trial detention center, where we traditionally spent two hours in the "boxes".

But the most "interesting" events occurred on June 6. Our "workday" lasted more than 13 hours. The day before, we weren't warned about the court hearing and were taken away without even being allowed to have breakfast. Without food, water, or the ability to move: first waiting in the pre-trial detention center "boxes", then sitting in the court cells, and finally in the "aquarium" at the hearing until 10:00 PM.

But what was most striking was the attitude of the "law enforcers" – the judges, the prosecutor, and the escort. Despite the fact that we, UOJ journalists, and Father Serhiy, along with our lawyers, reasonably requested the judge and the prosecutor to recuse themselves, these people continued to judge us.

Throughout the entire 6-hour hearing, the investigator and his assistants stood vigil near the building, anxiously peeking through the window – making sure everything went according to plan. And the plan involved satisfying the whims of the prosecution by any means, especially on that day. After all, otherwise, they might not have had time to conduct the next hearings, which were supposed to decide whether to keep us behind bars.

The escort refused to pass us water from our relatives. The judge cut off the lawyers and didn't allow us to speak when we requested it. And this was despite the fact that both we and our lawyers completely smashed all of the prosecutor's accusations, turning them into nothing.

The climax of judicial absurdity

It reached the point of complete absurdity – at 8:00 PM, after the second recess (when the working day was over), Father Serhiy's lawyers left the courtroom, and continuing the trial became impossible. When the priest asked to provide him with a free lawyer or postpone the trial, the judge suggested that he also leave the hearing (i.e., sit in the "coffin" waiting room).

When Andriy Ovcharenko (who physically cannot sit for long due to a slipped disc) said he had severe back pain, the judge suggested that he continue the hearing lying on the bench (!). I myself was already feeling dizzy and weak.

At the same time, there was a poster in our "aquarium" with a statement by the human rights ombudsman Lubenets to the effect that no one should be subjected to torture or inhuman treatment that humiliates their dignity. I quoted Lubenets' words to the judge, emphasizing that the hours-long detention of us in cells without food and water, prolonging the process until nightfall, fits perfectly with the ombudsman's definition. In turn, he just smirked.

And that smirk led me to think that this mockery of justice is an allusion to what awaits each and every one of us without exception after death. Ethereal tribulations.

Ukrainian court as an analogy to ethereal tribulations

Then, every soul will also fall into the hands of beings who will only wish you "eternal" punishment and try to drag you down to the underworld. Then, the soul, like us here, will be in the power of the "escort" and despite all desires, will not be able to attain freedom. There, like here, you can only pray. You won't be able to do anything else.

In this life, signs and reflections of the existence of another world surround us everywhere, a world into which we will sooner or later enter. You just need to see these signs and understand what they want to tell you. So this false trial is one of those signs.

Of course, one can be outraged by the actions of all these people – they are indeed cynical and lawless. But if you dig a little deeper, they are doing us a favor. Memento mori. And if I feel so bad now – what will it be like there, in the hands of beings much more powerful than all these judges and prosecutors?

Here and there, hope is the same – Christ, the Mother of God, and the saints. We have no other help, we have no other hope...

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