Two Greek Catholic priests arrested by Russians are consistently included in exchange lists, but so far without success

05 February, 09:17

One of the two Greek Catholic priests seized by Russia's National Guard (Rosgvardiya) in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Berdiansk in November 2022 appears to have been transferred illegally to Russia. Fr Ivan Levytsky is being held in an Investigation Prison in Russia's Rostov Region, Evhen Zakharov of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group told Forum 18. Fr Bohdan Heleta is being held in an Investigation Prison in Simferopol in Russian-occupied Crimea.

The Donetsk Exarchate of the Greek Catholic Church says that it can confirm only that the two priests are in Russian captivity. "The exact location is not known - there is different information, but it is unconfirmed," the Exarchate told Forum 18. "The fathers are constantly included in the exchange lists [for prisoners held by Russia and Ukraine], but so far without results".

Both priests appear to be under investigation on Russian criminal charges related to weapons and explosives the Russian occupation forces claim to have found in Berdyansk's Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, where Fr Ivan and Fr Bohdan serve, when occupation forces seized the priests in November 2022. The claims were also broadcast on Russian occupation media channels, along with claims that allegedly "extremist" literature had been found in the Church.

Among the allegedly "extremist" texts was a collection of sermons by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, who headed the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church until his death in 1944. During the Second World War, Metropolitan Sheptytsky protected Jews from the Holocaust, by supplying false identification papers and shelter from the Nazis at a time when such acts were punishable by death. He also publicly condemned the Holocaust, including by writing directly to the Nazi leadership.

The Donetsk Exarchate has strongly denied all the Russian occupation forces' claims.

"No trials [of the priests] have yet taken place," Zakharov of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group told Forum 18 on 29 January 2024.

Relatives, friends and the Donetsk Exarchate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church - to which Fr Ivan and Fr Bohdan belong – have had no contact with the priests since the Russian occupation forces disappeared them in November 2022.

Officials have refused to tell Forum 18 where Fr Ivan and Fr Bohdan are being held. Officials of Investigation Prisons Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5 in Rostov Region told Forum 18 that they do not hold Fr Ivan. Officials of the other Investigation Prison in Rostov Region and the two Investigation Prisons in Simferopol in Crimea refused to say if they are holding either priest.

The court for the district of Simferopol where the city's two Investigation Prisons are located told Forum 18 that it has not heard any requests to hold Fr Bohdan in pre-trial detention. Investigators need court orders to have individuals held in pre-trial detention. Investigators can submit them not only to the court where the individual is held but also to the court where the investigator is based.

The Russian Investigative Committee in the occupied Zaporizhzhia Region told Forum 18 that it is not investigating any cases against the priests. The Investigative Committee in Rostov Region said it was unable to say if any investigators in the Region are investigating a case against Fr Ivan. The Investigative Committee in Crimea said it was unable to say if any investigators in the Region are investigating a case against Fr Bohdan.

The Donetsk Exarchate of the Greek Catholic Church told Forum 18 that "all our priests have left" Russian-occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk Regions.

On 8 November 2023, the three UN Special Rapporteurs on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, on minority issues, and on freedom of religion or belief wrote to the Russian authorities (AL RUS 25/2023) expressing their "serious concern for the alleged enforced disappearances and torture or ill-treatment of clergy in the occupied territories in violation of international human rights law", and other freedom of religion or belief violations.

The head of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, called for the release of all Christian clergy "disappeared" by the Russian occupation forces. "We ask that international human rights organisations try to obtain the release of clergy of the Ukrainian Churches who have been imprisoned with no reason," he told a broadcast on the Church-run channel Zhyve TV on 28 January.

Archbishop Shevchuk also called for the release of Fr Ivan and Fr Bohdan. "We demand the release, the search for and freedom of our courageous Redemptorist fathers who are in Russian captivity."

"No trials [of Fr Ivan and Fr Bohdan] have yet taken place," Zakharov of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group told Forum 18 on 29 January 2024.

Various Russian officials between 29 January and 2 February refused to tell Forum 18 where Fr Ivan and Fr Bohdan are being held. Officials of Investigation Prisons Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5 in Rostov Region told Forum 18 that they do not hold Fr Ivan. Officials of the other Investigation Prison in Rostov Region and the two Investigation Prisons in Simferopol in Crimea refused to say if they are holding either priest.

Under Russian law, investigators need court orders to have individuals held in pre-trial detention. Investigators can submit requests not only to the court where the individual is held but also to the court where the investigator is based. Investigators generally need to renew these court orders every one or two months, with a maximum period of pre-trial detention normally of 12 months for "serious or especially serious crimes" or 18 months for such crimes "in exceptional circumstances".

The court for the Zheleznodorozhny District of Simferopol where the city's two Investigation Prisons are located told Forum 18 that it has not heard any requests to hold Fr Bohdan in pre-trial detention. "Find out from the Investigator which court ordered his detention," the official told Forum 18 on 1 February.

The Russian Investigative Committee in occupied Zaporizhzhia Region told Forum 18 on 30 January that it is not investigating any cases against the priests. The Investigative Committee in Rostov Region told Forum 18 on 30 January it was unable to say if any investigators in the Region are investigating a case against Fr Ivan. The Investigative Committee in Crimea told Forum 18 on 2 February it was unable to say if any investigators in the Region are investigating a case against Fr Bohdan.

The Greek Catholic Church was one of four religious communities the Russian-installed governor of the part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Region under Russian occupation banned in December 2022. The others were Grace Protestant Church, Melitopol Christian Church, and Word of Life Protestant Church.