Metropolitan Jonathan speaks about a deal offer from a police official
The Tulchyn bishop said he had received an offer of some kind of deal from a Kyiv high police official.
Metropolitan Jonathan of Tulchyn said that he had received "a strange proposal to make a deal with a certain Kyiv high police official through the latter's messenger." This is reported by the website of the Tulchyn Eparchy.
According to the metropolitan, the official's messenger said, "that with due ‘mutual understanding’" at a personal meeting with his boss in Kyiv, "there may not be a trial in his case." As reported in the press service of the diocese, "the messenger did not specify where and what court may not take place."
Metropolitan Jonathan told the clergy of the diocese, which "declared full confidence in their ruling bishop", about this planned deal.
The press service of the diocese recalled that “Vinnytsia City Court, contrary to the obvious facts presented by the defense side – lawyers who announced official forgery: criminal stuffing of the so-called material evidence, such as leaflets in the Metropolitan's dwelling and three files with leaflets in the Metropolitan's computer, previously confiscated by the investigation, unexpectedly sentenced Metropolitan Jonathan (b. 1949) to 5 years in prison.”
Metropolitan Jonathan is sure that "the wrong, biased verdict of the Vinnytsia city court dealt a powerful blow to the people's trust in the Ukrainian legal system." The bishop hopes that the Court of Appeal will “have courage to correct the probably forced mistake of the primary court, relying on the facts previously recorded by this court, rather than on the conjectures of the prosecution.”
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the Metropolitan of Tulchyn fears for his life and health.
