The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don, which commenced court hearing of the case of Oleg Prykhodko on June 9, disallowed Klyment, the Archbishop of the OCU Crimean Eparchy, to defend the pro-Ukrainian activist.
Oleg Prykhodko
LB.ua reported this while referring to the "Crimean Solidarity".
The defense requested the admission of Archbishop Klyment to act as a public defender. They explained that the Archbishop meant to "provide spiritual support" and has known Prykhodko since 1998 when the latter "performed welding works during the church construction in Yevpatoria."
The Russian prosecutor opposed the admission of the clergyman as a public defender.
Thus, the court dismissed Archbishop Klyment’s application.
Oleg Prykhodko was detained on October 9 after the search of his house in Orikhove village, Saky District. It is alleged that a TNT grenade was found in his garage. Placed in a metal shell of a fire extinguisher, it had a fuse for hand grenades and welding electrodes to serve as a filler.
Prykhodko claims it to be a plant.
He is suspected of preparing to blow up the town administration of Saky. According to the indictment, Prykhodko made an explosive device to blow up the town administration building to induce the authorities to decide on Crimea being part of Ukraine. A criminal case was brought against him per Article 205 of the Criminal Code (preparing acts of terrorism) and Article 223-1 of (illegal manufacture of explosives).
Prykhodko denies his involvement and considers the case to be political persecution for his pro-Ukrainian position.
At the beginning of April 2020, Oleg Prykhodko was transferred from the Simferopol pre-trial detention center to the SIZO-1 in Rostov-on-Don, where he is currently being held.