Robert Amsterdam is calling for an independent investigation into the murder of a monk at the Svyatogorsk Lavra

The international law firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP has issued an official demand for an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation into the death of Monk Varsonofiy (Turyansky) at the Svyatogorsk Lavra of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Attorney Robert Amsterdam emphasized the need to identify those responsible and hold them strictly accountable under the law.

In his statement, published on social media platform X, Robert Amsterdam linked the tragic incident to the current political climate in the country. The attorney sharply criticized Ukraine’s leadership, pointing out the contrast between the holding of a “prayer breakfast” and the simultaneous systematic pressure being exerted on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In his view, such events should not be used to legitimize policies of religious persecution.

Human rights activists emphasize that an attack on a member of the clergy cannot be viewed in isolation. The statement emphasizes that such acts of violence are a “horrifying consequence of the atmosphere” created by the actions of state agencies, including the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience. The organization called on Ukraine’s international partners to pay attention to the campaign against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and to demand that Kyiv ensure freedom of religion and respect for human rights.