Court rejects appeal to change preventive measure for UOJ journalist
The court rejected the defense lawyer's appeal and left the UOJ journalist Valeriy Stupnitsky in pre-trial detention.
On April 8, 2024, a court hearing took place regarding the appeal against the preventive measure for detained UOJ journalist Valeriy Stupnitsky.
According to video materials available to the UOJ, Valeriy Stupnitsky was not brought to the courtroom, which constitutes a gross violation of Ukrainian legislation.
Stupnitsky's lawyer informed the court that the detained journalist has serious health problems, including ischemic heart disease, and the conditions of his detention in pre-trial detention do not even meet minimum standards.
For example, Stupnitsky is held in a cell where the number of detainees exceeds the number of beds they can sleep on. Therefore, the UOJ journalist has to sleep for only 4 hours a day, mainly during the daytime. As a result, he has lost consciousness several times.
Additionally, the lawyer pointed out that the accusations against V. Stupnitsky lack evidentiary basis and cannot be used as evidence of his guilt.
In particular, he is charged with expressing the opinion that people seizing UOC churches are raiders. The prosecution believes that using the word "raiders" in relation to these people incites religious enmity. This is despite the fact that Ukrainian legislation uses this term in relation to illegal seizures of buildings or territories, and criminal cases are opened against those who seize UOC churches.
After the lawyer pointed out that Valeriy Stupnitsky has three children and did not evade the court, the suspect was given the floor via internet connection.
A standard television set was installed in the courtroom without additional sound amplifying equipment. As a result, when Valeriy Stupnitsky connected, almost nothing he said was audible in the courtroom.
Furthermore, Stupnitsky himself, as the defendant, had no opportunity to participate in the court hearing, respond to the accusations, request the court for explanations, and so on, which is illegal.
As a result, the court rejected the lawyer's motion and left Valeriy Stupnitsky in the pre-trial detention center.
Earlier, the UOJ wrote about the charges against Orthodox journalists.
