Lawyer: Only a court can solve the situation around Lavra

When commenting on the situation around the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Oleg Denisov, human rights defender of the NGO Public Advocacy, said that the actions of the authorities to terminate the lease agreement with the UOC and evict the monks can be based only on a court decision, and recommended church lawyers to prepare lawsuits and go to court, noting what arguments the Church can provide to defend itself.

The first set of arguments, the lawyer says, is that the facilities of the monastery were on a long-term lease agreement under the terms of restitution, i.e. the state initially failed to register them as the property of the religious community. As a second set of arguments, Denisov cites martial law, during which no long-term lease can be terminated.

"The combination of these strategies, which are based on the restitution obligation of the state, and the tactics that the lawyer will choose, is to go to the court system, open and conduct lawsuits," said the lawyer.

At the same time, Oleg Denisov emphasizes that the eviction of monks from the Lavra can be discussed in different formats.

"One position that is heard today is an eviction on the basis of a letter. There is a dispute here: the state believes that it is necessary to evict, and the monastery believes that it is not possible to evict. And as the practice of solving similar cases in many different countries shows, if there is a dispute, it should only be solved by the courts. There can be no eviction until the court decision to evict the monastery from the specific premises takes legal effect," said the human rights activist of the NGO Public Advocacy.

As reported, a Serbian bishop urged the UN Secretary-General to protect the UOC.