The case of UOC priest’s son beating by OCU activists resumed in Lutsk

Archpriest Vladimir Meles, rector of the persecuted UOC community in Sadiv. Photo: pravoslavna.volyn.ua

On June 17, 2021, the Lutsk city district court of the Volyn region canceled the decision of the senior investigator of the Lutsk police department of the GUNP in the Volyn region I.M. Izay of June 22, 2020 on the closure of the criminal case on the beating of Vasily Meles, the son of the UOC priest from Sadiv village, the press service of the Volyn diocese reports.

This is the second case the decision to close the criminal proceedings in this case has been cancelled.

On July 18, 2019 investigator I.M. Izay has already issued a decision to close the criminal proceedings, which was canceled by the decision of the investigating judge of the Lutsk City District Court dated October 7, 2019.

Ignoring the instructions of the investigating judge and the prosecutor, on June 22, 2020, investigator I.Izay again issued an order to close the criminal proceedings in this case, indicating that it was impossible to establish the identity of the offender who had beaten Archpriest Vladimir Meles’ son. At the same time, the investigator did not send the said decision to the victim V. Meles, thereby depriving him of the right and the opportunity to appeal in court against the decision to close the criminal proceedings.

Recall that on March 31, 2019, church raiders from the OCU in the village of Sadov in the Lutsk district of the Volyn region attacked the son of the priest of the UOC community, Archpriest Vladimir Meles, sixteen-year-old Vasily. As a result of the attack, the priest's son received a fracture of the skull bones, membrane hematomas, hemorrhages.

Information about the criminal offense was entered into the Unified State Register of Pre-trial Investigations on April 1, 2019.

The temple of the UOC in Sadiv village became the church raiding object for the OCU on February 2, 2019. Then the supporters of the new church organization cut off the locks on the church and declared it their own despite the fact that the UOC community held its own parish meeting and refused to change its jurisdiction. In the end, the services of the UOC community were transferred to the living quarters.

As the UOJ previously reported, Archpriest Vladimir Meles disputes the actions of the OCU community, which is trying to evict his family from the church house in Sadiv village, Volyn region.

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