Man who attacked UOC bishop is the subject of dozens of court cases

The attacker who assaulted Bishop Nikita and his subdeacons. Photo: Telegram channel of the Chernivtsi and Bukovyna Eparchy of the UOC

Yaroslav Horban has been repeatedly detained by police for drunk driving.

More than 20 administrative and criminal proceedings have been opened against the man who attacked Bishop Mykyta of Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomyya, reports the press service of the Chernivtsi and Bukovyna Eparchy of the UOC.

"Anti-church media actively launder the identity of Yaroslav Horban who committed violence and mould the offender as a hero-wrestler with the clergy," the press service notes. “But it is not that simple. Our hero, according to the Open Register of Court Decisions, is a systematic offender (more than 20 different court cases)".

In particular, Horban has been repeatedly detained by police for driving under the influence of alcohol. On April 10, when the attacker got out of the car and attacked the bishop, he had no right to be behind the wheel – the court deprived him of his driving licence for 10 years for repeated driving under the influence of alcohol within a year.

The diocese also stressed that it was on the day of the bishop's beating that the Zastavna district court was considering a case on one of Horban's offences.

The press service published a video showing him trying to beat church officials even in the presence of police officers.

"Where does this obsession come from? Who hypnotises the consciousness of Ukrainians on a daily basis: beat, beat, kill, kill Christians?" ask the authors of the report rhetorically.

As reported, police opened criminal proceedings under the article "hooliganism" in connection with the attack on Bishop Mykyta and his subdeacons in Chernivtsi.

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