Amsterdam to tell US Congress about the results of his trip to Ukraine
Robert Amsterdam. Photo: screenshot of "Channel 5"
An American lawyer of the UOC, Robert Amsterdam, has commented on social network X on the results of his visit to Ukraine.
He said he was recording a quick video because "a document circulating around Washington from the Law and Liberty Trust, which is legally completely meaningless, attempts to somehow defend the hate speech contained in Bill 8371, by which Ukraine is trying to pass to ban the UOC."
"Ukraine has very little in the way of religious freedom. I met with many priests and leaders of the UOC, and each of them was interrogated by the secret police, the SBU, which has as its mission to destroy the Church. One of them was interrogated so aggressively that he had a heart attack the same day," the lawyer said, apparently referring to Metropolitan Feodosiy of Cherkasy.
He also spoke about meetings with MPs "who are so frustrated at their lack of freedom that they say their lives are hell. They too were interrogated by the SBU”.
Amsterdam intends to inform members of the US Congress about what he heard in Ukraine to urge them to contact the Rada Speaker Stefanchuk to refer Bill 8371 to the Venice Commission for examination.
The lawyer said Ukrainians need help because their government practices "blind loyalty and dropping their own treasured freedoms, such as media and religion” and “silencing opponents".
"We need to tell them to stop persecuting the UOC. Stop the religious cleansing and, for God's sake, control of the secret police, which reminds me more of Stalin’s Russia than any form of democracy and democratic conduct known to man," Amsterdam concluded.
As earlier reported, the repression against the UOC reminds Robert Amsterdam of the Soviet times.
Read also
Kosovo to enact law restricting Serbian Church, experts say
Analysts warn that the new "Law on Foreigners" in Kosovo could restrict the presence of clergy, believers' access to shrines, and increase pressure on the Serbian community.
Congress Speaker: Demand to introduce Sharia law in USA is a serious problem
The Speaker of the House of Representatives stated that there is growing concern in society about attempts to impose Islamic law, which is incompatible with the American Constitution.
UK government introduces restrictions on "anti-Muslim hostility"
UK authorities have adopted a new definition of "Islamophobia" which, according to experts, could provide Muslims with special protection and restrict freedom of speech.
Dumenko brings icon in Church Slavonic to Ministry of Health
Epifaniy presented cardiologists with an Intercession icon, with inscriptions in Church Slavonic, which his structure calls a "sign of the Moscow tradition".
ISIS supporters carries out terrorist attack at anti-Islamic protest in NY
Near the home of New York's Muslim mayor, radicals threw two makeshift bombs at protesters during an anti-Islamic rally.
Hryshchuk: If UOC hands over its church itself, angle grinders aren't needed
An OCU chaplain called on UOC believers to accept the loss of the shrine for the sake of their own "enlightenment".