On the evening of July 14, 2023, the lawyer of the vicar of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Pavel of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl, Archpriest Nikita Chekman, commented on the ruling of the Solomenskiy district court of Kyiv to change the measure of restraint for the vicar.

According to the lawyer, the court ruled to take Metropolitan Pavel into custody without any grounds and on fictitious charges.

“The bishop is really being tried for the Orthodox faith, because there is nothing in the case material that is hyped by the media. All these phrases are taken out of context,” Archpriest Nikita Chekman noted.

The human rights activist also drew attention to the fact that given the age and state of health of the bishop Pavel, taking him into custody can be qualified as torture and an attempt on the life of the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

“Blatant discrimination against the UOC is taking place, they have already started imprisoning God’s bishops,” Father Nikita said.