Abvakum Monastery: On Tuesday or Wednesday, the monks report to the Investigative Committee

They are expected to appear before the Investigative Committee next Tuesday or Wednesday

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Next Tuesday or Wednesday, the two Archimandrites of the Holy Monastery of St. Avvakum, who are on holiday, are expected to appear before the Investigative Committee, which was appointed by the six-member Synodal Court, the KYPE is informed.

According to the information, the two monks on holiday did not appear before the Investigative Committee yesterday, as expected, since due to the large amount of material that the Investigative Committee has in front of it, it reserved to call them next week.

As the KYPE is informed by an ecclesiastical source, the members of the Investigative Committee have already gathered all the witness material and with the testimony of the two monks on holiday before it, they will proceed to draw up a conclusion, which will be presented before the six-member Synodal Court, for the decision-taking.

When the two Archimandrites on holiday present themselves and testify before the Investigative Committee, the process ends, as long as no new evidence emerges.

However, as the same source told KYPE, "the process is not expected to be completed before Easter".

"The Commission of Inquiry," he noted, "is not interested in the time the process will take, but in issuing a reliable conclusion."

When asked whether the audio-visual material, which is in the possession of the investigative authorities of the Police, will be taken into account in the Synod Court, for the final decision, the same source said that "the fact that the obtained material is illegal cannot leave indifferent to the Synodal Court, nor to the Synod".

"They form an opinion from the audio-visual material they have in their hands. I think they are able to judge if it is prefab or has a base. It will be taken into account, otherwise they wouldn't show them," he added.

Investigations continue at an intensive pace

Besides, the investigation by the investigative authorities of the Police is ongoing and is being carried out at an intensive pace.

A police source told KYPE that the audio-visual material, which was taken from the Monastery of St. Avvakum, is being studied, noting that everything that was received either in audio-visual material or in any other document, is to be investigated and evaluated.

When asked by the KYPE whether the audio-visual material can constitute evidence before a Court, the specific source stated that this will be determined by the investigators.

The information states that an investigation is being carried out by the investigators and by the experts of the Criminal Investigation Service (CIP), regarding whether the audio-visual material was received legally and is not contaminated.

Besides, the same source explained that in many cases closed circuit surveillance was used in court proceedings to document findings.