Amsterdam to Met. Theodosiy: What is being done to you now is a war crime

Metropolitan Theodosiy and Robert Amsterdam. Photo: Cherkasy Eparchy

Robert Amsterdam, head of the international law firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP, called Metropolitan Theodosiy of Cherkasy and Kaniv with words of support, stating that his situation is being closely monitored not only by his colleagues in the legal and human rights fields in the US and the UK but also by media representatives and the establishment of these countries. They are interested in the legal trajectory of the country and the Ukrainian government’s adherence to its commitments in the field of religious freedoms, as reported by the Cherkasy diocese.

He decided to support the hierarch after another search and the initiation of the fifth criminal case against the metropolitan, which resulted from his refusal to leave Ukraine as a "prisoner of war".

The lawyer stated that repeated actions by radicals and provocations near the courthouse, where the hearings of Metropolitan Theodosiy’ case are taking place, are causing particular concern among legal experts. The UOC's defender claimed that this is planned psychological pressure on the Ukrainian court to ensure it makes the necessary decision regarding the UOC hierarch.

"Robert Amsterdam wished Metropolitan Theodosiy to remain as strong as before and not to give up in defending the Church. 'What is being done to you now is a war crime. But the time will come when all those responsible will be duly punished,'" the lawyer’s words were conveyed by the Cherkasy diocese.

As reported by the UOJ, on June 19, the SBU announced the delivery of the fifth suspicion to Metropolitan Theodosiy (Snigirev).

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