UOC's Lawyer: Met. Arseniy's Case is a Full-Scale Crime Against Humanity

Robert Amsterdam. Photo: Piers Morgan/YouTube

LONDON — On Dec. 1, 2025, the London-based law firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP issued a statement on the criminal case against Met. Arseniy of Sviatohirsk, alleging fabrication by Ukrainian authorities and “systematic attacks on believers.” 

According to the firm, the hierarch has been held in harsh conditions for more than a year. He is accused of revealing the location of the Ukrainian army after publicly criticizing road checkpoints that prevented Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) parishioners from reaching churches of the Sviatohirsk Lavra. The lawyers note that charges were filed months after the sermon and that the checkpoints mentioned were never shelled.

“The imprisonment of this innocent monk is part of the Ukrainian government's ongoing violations of religious freedom,” the statement says. The attorneys argue that the state is aggressively promoting the government-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) at the expense of the UOC, resulting in forced transfers of parishes.

The firm also points to Ukraine’s August 2024 adoption of Law No. 3894, which created a legal basis for banning the UOC and 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 of the firm, stated: “The authorities' conduct in relation to the UOC, of which Met. Arseniy's case is emblematic, involves a full-scale crime against humanity. This crime is being prosecuted by President Zelensky and others involved in state-organized systematic attacks on civilians for their membership in the UOC.”

He urged the international community to recognize “the shameful and merciless theatre of the absurd that is going on throughout the Ukrainian courts, orchestrated by the Ukrainian secret police – the SBU.”

Previously, UOJ reported that Amsterdam said to stop talking about Ukraine as a democracy while it tortures innocent priests.

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