The following letter from UOC lawyer Robert Amsterdam was sent to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on August 6, 2024 warning of his potential violations of international law and application of war crimes. The letter was copied to relevant officials in the United States, the European Union, and United Nations, includes leaked internal documents showing how members of the Ukrainian government planned and organized a premeditated campaign to eradicate the 1,000-year-old majority church in Ukraine, in clear violation of international law.
The contains a clear warning to President Zelenskyy: “These documents also provide crucial evidence that there is a risk that crimes against humanity are or will soon be committed in Ukraine that would fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. While there has long been evidence of “attacks directed against … a civilian population,” these documents appear to confirm that these attacks are “pursuant to or in furtherance of a state or organizational policy to commit such an attack,” as required under the Rome Statute. The evidence we set out in this letter forms a sound basis for an investigation by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court of the possible commission of crimes against humanity as part of a systematic attack on the UOC and its adherents.”
Additionally, the letter also acknowledges intelligence that we have obtained indicating that “the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine is preparing criminal proceedings against me for my defence of the UOC. Such a criminal charge would violate the UOC’s right to legal representation and constitute legal harassment of human rights defenders protected by international law.”
The full text of the letter can be downloaded here, or read on Scribd on the embed below.