Amsterdam: Arseniy’s jailers will parade in US talking about freedom of faith

American lawyer Robert Amsterdam. Photo: theglobeandmail.com

On December 1, 2025, Robert Amsterdam, international attorney for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, issued a statement on his X (formerly Twitter) account regarding the situation surrounding Metropolitan Arseniy of Sviatohirsk, describing the conditions of his detention in a Ukrainian pre-trial facility.

According to Amsterdam, one of his attorneys recently visited Metropolitan Arseniy in the Ukrainian jail where he has been held for many months under extremely harsh conditions. The lawyer noted: “One of my lawyers has actually visited Arseniy in the Ukrainian SIZO, where he has been held for months in conditions that can only be described as torture. Improper heating, improper food, constant transport to and from court, and conditions that would be fit even for a healthy person – let alone a man such as Arseniy, who is dealing with multiple organ disfunctions, and whose blood pressure is constantly well above normal.”

Amsterdam recalled that the Metropolitan has spent more than a year in custody on what he describes as “trumped-up and bogus charges.” He emphasized that after a brief release, the hierarch was arrested again on yet another set of similar charges. He stated: “Ukrainian authorities are engaged in a merciless, systematic attack on individuals involved with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”

The attorney also linked the pressure on the Metropolitan to attempts to seize church property: “The case of Metropolitan Arseniy is striking in its cruelty and in its obvious aim – to seize the cathedral in Kyiv. This is openly discussed by inmates who attend the court hearings in an attempt to support the Metropolitan.”

Amsterdam noted that another court session in the case of Metropolitan Arseniy will take place on Tuesday. He stressed: “Arseniy will again attend a court located not far from the front line, as he will attempt to fight not only for the Church that he loves but for his very survival in these incredibly difficult conditions.”

In conclusion, Amsterdam drew attention to the Ukrainian government’s efforts to present itself internationally as a defender of religious freedom despite the persecution of UOC clergy: “The attack by the Ukrainian government on the Church, their flaunting of religious-freedom issues is in contrast to the show they will be putting on in Washington in February – at the conference on international religious freedom, where the very jailers of Arseniy will be parading around Washington as if they have somehow found their conscience. This case demonstrates that they have not.”

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the international human-rights firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP issued a sharp statement over the ongoing persecution of the UOC hierarch.

Read also