International lawyer Robert Amsterdam arrives in Armenia 

ArmInfo.  The famous American-Canadian international lawyer specializing in political  defense and human rights arrived in Armenia on an urgent visit on  August 11. "My main mission in Armenia is to protect the church and  the sons of the church, Christians who are illegally deprived of  their freedom," he said in a conversation with journalists upon  arrival in the Republic of Armenia.

"When believers and people who love their church and country, like  Samvel Karapetyan, have their business subjected to an illegal raid,  it means something is wrong. Dialogue between the government and the  church is necessary. I hope that this dialogue will begin, I hope  that these charges will be dropped and as a result of the process the  church will be protected," he noted.

As the international lawyer pointed out, the church in Armenia plays  a key role in preserving religion, language, as well as in the lives  of people professing Christianity and not only in Armenia.

"All believers are obliged to protect the church in Armenia. I defend  the church in Ukraine, I defended the Orthodox Church there 45 years  ago. Unfortunately, today there is a list of countries where the  church is under attack. In my opinion, there is no duty more sacred  than defending the church and the rule of law.  With age, the church  and religion take a more important place in a person's life," he  emphasized.

According to him, some governments in some cases try to use the  church for political and foreign policy purposes, instead of treating  it as an object of worship. In this regard, this mission is very  important to him, Amsterdam added.

As the international human rights defender noted, he is also aware of  the sensitivity of the issue due to the fact that there are still  Armenian Christians who are held captive by Azerbaijan.

Answering the question whether he is afraid that the Armenian  authorities will put pressure on him, the lawyer noted: "I am used to  pressure from governments of different countries; I was arrested in  Russia, I was banned from entering seven countries. I have been doing  this for 50 years. It is clear that there can be pressure, but for  this pressure to achieve its goal, there must be someone who will  give in to this pressure.  We do not bend under pressure. We do not  bend in defense of the rule of law>.