Suspicion of Justifying Russian Aggression: Metropolitan Arseniy’s Re-Arrest After Release from Detention
An unexpected development in the case of the head of the Holy Mountain Lavra of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Arseniy, who was recently released on bail, has once again resulted in his detention.
He was released from custody after posting a bail of 1.5 million hryvnias, but the very next day he was re-arrested by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
This happened as the clergyman was leaving the detention facility, and his re-arrest was justified by suspicions that he might flee to avoid criminal liability.
According to official reports, from the moment of his detention, Arseniy was held in an SBU investigatory department in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, after which he was taken to a hospital in Dnipro for medical examination.
A cardiologist who examined him stated that hospitalization was not necessary, but he was later placed in a detention isolation.
The investigative procedures are ongoing, and a court session to decide on his preventive measure is still underway.
Earlier, in April 2024, there were more serious allegations against him — accusations of justifying Russian aggression (Article 436-2 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code), and a motion has been filed to remand him in custody.
It is also recalled that he confirmed in a video posted on the monastery’s website and in a Telegram channel that he shared information about the location of military personnel, which could lead to him receiving a prison sentence of up to eight years.