The Vinnytsia Court of Appeal decided to re-examine written evidence in the case of Metropolitan of Tulchinsky and Bratslavsky of the Canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) Jonathan (Yeletskikh), who was previously sentenced to five years in prison for justifying Russia's actions in Ukraine and encroaching on the territorial integrity of the country. This decision was made by the panel of judges during the meeting.
"The panel of judges, after consulting, decided: to satisfy the petition of the defenders <...>, to re-examine the written evidence in this criminal proceeding," the local newspaper Vinnytsia quotes the verdict.info".
It is clarified that the lawyers of the accused demanded the recusal of the judges, but were refused. The consideration of the case on the merits was postponed to February 19, the newspaper notes.
On August 7, 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine announced that Jonathan had been sentenced to five years in prison. According to the secret service, the hierarch distributed propaganda leaflets among believers, in which he called for the seizure of power and the change of the state border of Ukraine. The convict's lawyers insist that the leaflets were planted during the search by security officers.