Amsterdam: Metropolitan Arseniy's case is a full-scale crime against humanity
Robert Amsterdam. Photo: Piers Morgan’s YouTube channel
On December 1, 2025, the London-based law firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP released a statement concerning the case against Metropolitan Arseniy of Sviatohirsk, accusing the Ukrainian authorities of fabrication and systematic attacks on believers. Another court hearing in the cleric’s case is scheduled for tomorrow.
The statement notes that the UOC hierarch has been held in harsh conditions for more than a year. He is accused of disclosing the location of the Ukrainian army after he spoke out against road checkpoints that prevented UOC parishioners from reaching the churches of the Sviatohirsk Lavra. According to the human-rights defenders, the charges were brought months after the sermon, and the checkpoints mentioned in it were never subjected to enemy shelling.
“The imprisonment of this innocent monk is part of the Ukrainian government's ongoing violations of religious freedom,” the statement says. According to the attorneys, the Ukrainian authorities are aggressively pursuing a policy of promoting the state-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) at the expense of the UOC, resulting in the forcible transfer of parishes from one confession to another.
The human-rights advocates remind readers that in August 2024 Ukraine adopted Law No. 3894, establishing a legal basis for banning the UOC. The law was condemned by the Vatican, Pope Francis, the World Council of Churches, Human Rights Watch, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Robert Amsterdam, founder and managing partner of Amsterdam & Partners LLP, reiterated: “The authorities' conduct in relation the UOC, of which Metropolitan Arseniy's case is emblematic, involves a full-scale crime against humanity. This crime is being committed by President Zelensky and by others involved in state-organized systematic attacks on civilians for their membership in the UOC.”
Amsterdam called on the international community to take note of “the shameful and merciless theatre of the absurd that is going on throughout the Ukrainian courts, orchestrated by the Ukrainian secret police – the SBU.”
Earlier, the UOJ quoted Amsterdam as saying that one cannot speak of democracy in Ukraine while clergy are being tortured.
Read also
Unknown assailants set fire to synagogue in the Netherlands
A nighttime arson attack in Rotterdam, accompanied by an explosion at the entrance to the building, has stirred fear in the Jewish community amid a rise in attacks on religious sites.
Shevchuk: ROC still refers to Lviv Council without adding “pseudo” prefix
The head of the Uniates once again claimed an exclusive role for his structure in the making of Ukraine and accused the Moscow Patriarchate of clinging to “Soviet clichés.”
Israeli army kills Catholic priest in Lebanon
Fifty-year-old Pierre El-Rai was killed after the Israeli army shelled a residential home while he was trying to help his parishioners during the attack.
Cuban authorities release 51 prisoners at Vatican’s request
Havana granted clemency to the prisoners after the Cuban foreign minister’s personal meeting with Pope Leo XIV and talks at the Vatican.
Monastic tonsure performed at Hoshcha Monastery
Metropolitan Pimen tonsured three sisters of the Protection convent into the lesser schema.
DESS accuses UOC of “abusing justice system”
Members of the Expert Council expressed outrage that lawyers for the Kyiv Metropolia are using lawful means of defense in the courts.