A Ukrainian MP and subdeacon in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church claimed he was detained and tortured for his religious and political beliefs, as a London court heard his extradition case this week.
Artem Dmytruk fought efforts to return him to Ukraine, where he faces charges of grievous and actual bodily harm in connection with alleged assaults in Odesa and Kyiv.
He was first arrested in March 2022 after reportedly striking a member of Ukraine’s security services during a wartime curfew. He's also accused of attacking a man, leaving him with a concussion and a fractured nose and skull in October 2023.
At Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Dmytruk’s lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald KC, told the judge there was “clear evidence” his client had been tortured by Ukraine’s SBU security agency following the incident, claiming he had been “restrained and beaten severely”.
The 32-year-old former weightlifter argued that he would not receive a fair trial in his home country. His legal team said he had been targeted for his association with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which has been viewed with suspicion by many Ukrainians because of its historic ties to Russia.
The UOC has faced increasing pressure and discrimination since the Russian invasion, with some churches raided or closed by Ukranian security forces. In court, Professor Nadieszda Kizenko, an expert on Orthodox Christianity, described the situation as a “systematic, ongoing and egregious violation of the rights and freedoms of the UOC.”
Dmytruk, who rejected accusations of being pro-Russian, belonged to Restoration of Ukraine, a parliamentary group opposing President Volodymyr Zelensky. He was first elected in 2019 as an independent candidate with the backing of Mr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party.
The court heard that Mr Zelensky had publicly condemned “traitors who assisted Russian aggression or justify it” in a national address on 25 August 2024. He made the comment a day after Dmytruk fled Ukraine. Legal experts told the court they believed the speech referred to the MP, suggesting he had become a political target.
In a message shared with his 250,000 Instagram followers, Dmytruk thanked those who had supported him, writing: “Thanks to everyone who remained objective all this time… thanks to those who were near - heart, word, prayer. This is very important.”
The extradition hearing continued on Wednesday.
