Amsterdam: Repealing anti-UOC law must be precondition of US aid to Ukraine

Robert Amsterdam. Photo: TRT World

Famous international lawyer Robert Amsterdam, representing the interests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), stated on the Turkish TRT channel that the repeal of Law No. 3894, aimed against the UOC, should be a precondition for further U.S. aid to Ukraine. He made this comment during an interview while discussing the prospects for protecting the rights of believers after Donald Trump was elected President of the United States.

“I believe it may be overturned if not immediately, I believe absolutely it will be in time as a precondition of further aid or protection,” said Amsterdam. 

The lawyer expressed hope that Trump’s election, and especially the appointment of J.D. Vance as vice president, would change the situation with the persecution of the canonical Church in Ukraine. 

“With God's grace, J.D. Vance as vice president, the one senator who had the courage to speak out (in defense of the UOC – ED.) when no one else would I think it's a tremendous opportunity for those who believe in freedom of religion to impact Ukraine,” emphasized the lawyer. 

During the interview, Amsterdam also spoke about the scale of the persecution of the UOC. According to him, 1,500 temples of the canonical Church have been seized in Ukraine, and accusations of ties to Russia made against the clergy are fabricated. 

“There are 10,000 priests in Ukraine; they've charged something like 80 of the 10,000 with some form of political offense that are bogus. I have seen these files,” the UOC lawyer said. 

Amsterdam paid special attention to the fate of Metropolitan Arseniy, who is “in horrific conditions for nine months in a Ukrainian jail”.

“During a sermon, he was angry that police had stopped parishioners from coming to his church, this man has been in conditions that are beyond horrible for nine months because the government fabricated these charges,” said the lawyer. 

Robert Amsterdam also criticized the creation of the OCU (Orthodox Church of Ukraine), calling it a “parallel church” that was established by “Petro Poroshenko and the U.S. Secretary of State”. According to him, it is a “nationalist church” with icons dedicated to the Maidan, which is fully controlled by the state. 

Earlier, the UOJ reported that at the Religious Freedom Summit in the U.S., Amsterdam stated that in Ukraine, Christ’s children are being persecuted with American funds.

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