American lawyer: OCU is engaged in a vicious campaign to seize churches

Bob Amsterdam emphasized that the seizure of churches in Ukraine is unacceptable. Photo: screenshot by X Carlson

Bob Amsterdam, an American attorney who is involved in defending the UOC, stated in a conversation with journalist and public figure Tucker Carlson, published on Х, that the OCU is engaged in violence against the UOC believers.

"Five years ago, the Ukrainian government, in its 'wisdom,' set up what is called an autocephalous church... and decided that that church should replace the spiritual home of Ukrainians. That church, called the OCU, has been engaged in an absolutely vicious, unlimited campaign to steal property, harass, intimidate, and jail clerics," Amsterdam said.

He noted that "we see raids on churches, we see violence. We see balaclava-covered individuals beating up and kidnapping clergymen. This is absolutely shocking."

Amsterdam pointed out that the authorities use an excuse that the UOC is somehow connected to the Russian FSB. However, the lawyer emphasized that, based on testimonies he has reviewed, the UOC is entirely separate from Moscow and "there seems to be little substance to these allegations."

"In fact, there are other institutions in Ukraine, like the secret service (SBU – Ed.), which have been far more inflitrated by Russia than this particular Church," he stated.

Amsterdam claims he can speak openly about this issue without fearing accusations of sympathy for Putin, as he is considered one of the biggest Putin's enemies and has been banned from entering the country.

"There is a huge PR ban on saying anything that is critical of the Ukrainian government or President Zelensky, and as a result of that, we fail to understand the context of internal Ukrainian affairs," the lawyer stressed.

He pointed out that all the allegations against the hierarchs and believers of the UOC having connections with the FSB are unsubstantiated.

"Were it true, the evidence against these four metropolitans (UOC – Ed.) would be substantive. Yet, they are painfully inadequate. The charges of one metropolitan who has adopted 400 children relates to hurting the feelings of other Christians or other denominations. I mean these charges are on their face, political charges," the lawyer stated.

Previously, the UOJ reported that, according to Bob Amsterdam, Zelensky is destroying the UOC to take the populist vote in the elections.

Read also