Patriarch Kirill refuses to facilitate Igor Kozlovsky’s release from captivity

The self-appointed tribunal court of the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” condemned the Ukrainian scholar Igor Kozlovsky –  the historian and religious scholar was considered an especially unreliable citizen, while his age of 63 years and custody of his son, who has Down syndrome, were not taken into account.

Ukrainian scholars requested even the Primate of the ROC, Patriarch Kirill to assist in the release of the colleague, but he refused to do it, according to a story of TSN.

“We live in a very difficult time - the time of choice. This choice is between light and darkness, good and evil, peace and war,” said Kozlovsky in spring 2014 in Donetsk, when coming on the prayer square to pray for peace with different denominations. In January 2016, the scholar was seized by terrorists of the “DPR” on a trumped-up case, accusing him of sabotage in favor of Ukraine. After keeping him captive almost a year and four months in the basement, the militants’ tribunal ruled: imprison the Ukrainian for two years and eight months.

“Various contacts were restricted, no phone call. While various organizations have asked the church let him out at least for Christmas or Easter - there was no response,” says his wife Valentyna Kozlovska.

According to her, the only thing people asked through a lawyer were books, magazines and bulbs, in order to be able to at least to read. The scholar’s family is now living in Kyiv. The historian did not leave the occupied territories, as he cared for his son Svyatoslav - the boy has Down syndrome.

“He keeps looking at his photographs and we cannot explain why father is absent for so long,” his another son Alexander Kozlovsky said.

The talks with militants never gave result.

“Negotiations’ progress is very difficult, because the lists we are going to agree on, necessarily include Igor in our version. The other side to today did not put Igor on these lists,” Vice-Speaker Iryna Gerashchenko says.

Artists, scholars and caring Ukrainians launched a flash mob in social networks with a demand to release Kozlovskyy, but this was not enough publicity. Theologians requested to the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate to rescue the hostage, but to no avail.

“It is sedition. We even asked the Patriarch to help release Igor, but received a letter saying it is our internal affair,” said Deputy Director of the Institute of Philosophy, Professor Anatoliy Kolodnyy.