In the Verkhovna Rada, the debate surrounding the draft law, which paves the way for the banning of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, has intensified again.
After the adoption by the parliamentary committee on humanitarian and information policy of the decision to recommend the people's deputies to support the project as a whole, the lobbyists of the document began to demand that it be put to a vote as soon as possible. Moreover, the opposition to Zelensky party of ex-president Petro Poroshenko "European Solidarity" is trying harder than others, despite the fact that the draft law was initiated by the government of Denys Shmyhal. However, despite the appeals of "Eurosolidarity" and a number of other factions and deputy groups that joined them, the authorities are in no hurry to take action.
In the context of the draft law, the uproar created by a letter to the Verkhovna Rada of the legal advisor of the UOC, the famous American lawyer Robert Amsterdam, who is a partner of the law firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP, is still noteworthy. In it, the project was called "the largest obvious government intervention in freedom of religion in modern European history."
If the bill passes, Amsterdam warns that his team "will work to ensure that sanctions and other legal consequences are imposed on those who allow this attack."
Moreover, speaking of sanctions, Amsterdam mentioned the Magnitsky Act, which provides for the introduction of personal measures and operates in the USA, Great Britain, Canada and a number of other countries.
The main "humanitarian" committee for the draft law reacted nervously to the letter. The head of the committee, Mykyta Poturaev ("Servant of the People", SN) called it "absolutely unprecedented interference in the internal affairs of Ukraine and pressure on people's deputies, the leadership of the Verkhovna Rada." Together with his colleagues, he intends to turn to the SBU, so that it, in turn, turns to the American FBI with a request to understand the "basis of activity" of Amsterdam. And the committee demanded that the draft law be brought to the session hall.
