US Assistant Secretary of State in 2017-2021 Robert Destro, who is one of the key members of the team of the United States presidential candidate Donald Trump, believes that the bill № 8371, aimed at banning the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, is a direct violation of freedom of conscience and persecution of believers of the “wrong confession”. About this he told in a commentary to the publication “Strana.ua”.

“Bill 8731 is a mockery of human rights. While it is presented as a ‘national security’ measure, it is actually a law that imposes collective punishment on innocent parishioners, priests and parish communities whose only ‘crime’ is practicing the faith they have known since childhood. In doing so, the United States government is complicit in this bullying, even though it should condemn it. The United States has no right to support human rights violations in the Ukrainian state. On the contrary, the United States could declare Ukraine a ‘country of particular concern’ under our International Religious Freedom Act”, – Robert Destro said.

The politician added that the Ukrainian government shows totalitarianism in the issue of state control over religious organizations.

“Only totalitarians claim that their citizens are traitors because they refuse to recognize state control over their religious beliefs, practices, associations or leaders. In democracies, persons accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty in a public trial”, – Destro added.

We will remind, earlier we reported that the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada sent a complaint to the SSU and the FBI about the activities of the lawyer of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Robert Amsterdam.