The Ukrainian Supreme Court has refused to overturn the conviction of Metropolitan Ionafan (Yeletskikh) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), who was previously exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war. The decision underscores the ongoing pressure and legal persecution faced by UOC hierarchs under the current Ukrainian government.
Clergymen currently facing trial in Ukraine are increasingly subjected to harsh sentences and imprisonment, often based on questionable charges and in apparent violation of constitutional protections and civil rights. This pattern was once again evident in the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the verdict against Metropolitan Ionafan, the former head of the Tulchyn Diocese.
The metropolitan had been sentenced to five years in prison. Notably, throughout the legal proceedings, Ukrainian authorities reportedly offered to exchange him for Ukrainian POWs held in Russia—effectively recognizing a cleric as a de facto prisoner of war. Metropolitan Ionafan declined these offers on principle.
His legal defense had petitioned the Supreme Court to annul the previous rulings and send the case back for a retrial. According to his lawyer, the investigation had involved multiple procedural violations, including the improper handling of evidence. The defense also contested the admissibility of linguistic analyses of seized">Календарь