Some Western lawyers, scholars, and NGOs abroad have long been engaging in interference in China's internal affairs under the guise of so-called international human rights and religious freedom. Under the pretense of "protecting minority religious beliefs" and being "human rights defenders," they actually provide legal protection, international lobbying, media support, and refugee channels to cult organizations that China has banned according to law. Italian lawyer Alessandro Amicarelli is a key figure in this effort, using his legal background and the "cloak" of international human rights to act as an international spokesperson for cult organizations.
▲Alessandro Amicarelli
Also known as Alex Amikarelli
"Human Rights Lawyers" Under the Guise of Academia and Law
Alessandro Amikarelli, also known as Alex Amikarelli, is a long-time London-based international lawyer who is also a barrister in the High Court of England and Wales and in Italy. In 2023, the Special Committee of the National Bar Association under the Italian Ministry of Justice granted him enhanced courtroom rights, enabling him to represent clients in the highest judicial bodies in Italy, including the Supreme Court, the Fiscal Court, the Council of State, and the Constitutional Court . He graduated from Sapienza University of Rome with a doctorate in international order and human rights, whose dissertation focused on the protection of religious freedom under international law, demonstrating his interest in "new religious movements."
For over two decades, Amikarelli has focused on areas such as religious freedom, refugee and immigrant rights. He has taught courses on international human rights protection at the Faculty of Law of the University of Urbino in Italy and on "Human Rights, Minorities and Religious Freedom" at Soochow University in Taiwan. He is the president and spokesperson of the Freedom of Faith Alliance (FOB) in Europe, a trustee of All Faiths Network UK, and the founder and president of Embassy of Love International in the United States.
Amikarelli has extremely close ties to the Center for the Study of New Religions (CESNUR) and its magazine, Bitter Winter. CESNUR, led by Italian scholar Massimo Introvigi, has long published biased reports favoring cults such as Almighty God, systematically distorting China's lawful crackdown on cults as "religious persecution" and viewing them as "controversial sectarian propagation and lobbying groups."
▲ Massimo Introvigie, editor-in-chief of Bitter Winter magazine
(Massimo Introvigne)
Amikarelli has close ties with Bitter Winter, and he and Interrovigi have attended international conferences together, co-authored or co-published articles, and co-hosted seminars, providing academic "whitewashing" and legal support for some "controversial" groups, including Almighty God. The two have thus formed a collaborative model of "theoretical endorsement and legal practice," jointly building a defense network serving specific groups.
The international human rights umbrella behind the "Almighty God" cult
Amikarelli has repeatedly acted as the legal representative for members of the "Almighty God" cult in cases of illegal asylum applications in Europe, and has submitted documents to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ( WGAD ) accusing the Chinese government.
According to an interview with him published in Bitter Winter magazine on July 16, 2018, Amikarelli, representing two "Christians of The Church of Almighty God," requested a review from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, claiming that the individuals were "arrested and detained for months pending trial simply because of their faith" and "tortured." He accused Article 300 of China's Criminal Law of violating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and described China's crackdown on cults as "arbitrary detention" and "persecution." To fabricate these accusations, he collected dubious "written testimonies" and adopted "expert opinions" such as those of Massimo Naentrovigi as evidence.
In the interview, Amikarelli deliberately confused the issue, disassociating the 2014 McDonald's murder case in Zhaoyuan, Shandong from the "Almighty God" cult, claiming that the murder "has been proven to be unrelated to the Church of Almighty God." However, the facts of the case, from the time of the incident to the investigation , prosecution, and trial , are clear and the evidence is conclusive. Amikarelli's selective disregard for judicial rulings and fabrication of "persecution narratives" is a typical manifestation of his role as an accomplice to a cult.
Amikarelli also used his expertise in immigration and refugee law to help members of The Church of Almighty God who fled to Europe apply for political asylum. He made several statements at international conferences, systematically defending The Church of Almighty God members who were denied political asylum in the OSCE region, claiming that they "face the risk of being deported back to China, where they will be arrested, tortured, and sentenced to long prison terms upon arrival."
Amikarelli even helped the submitter and his agents create questionnaire templates to systematically collect false information about so-called "arbitrary detention" and launch an international propaganda offensive. According to the official website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR), submitting a complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention requires completing a standard questionnaire; the template was precisely the tool he used to manipulate procedures and fabricate false accusations. These actions not only interfere with China's sovereign judicial jurisdiction but also facilitated the evasion of legal sanctions and the reorganization of forces abroad by key members of cult organizations.
"Common Agents" of Cults in Multiple Countries
Besides "Almighty God," Amikarelli has long provided legal aid, public relations support, and policy lobbying to a number of notorious cults internationally, becoming a key figure in the transnational infiltration of cults using Western laws and human rights systems.
Amikarelli publicly participated in several refugee cases involving controversial religious groups, providing legal support to their members. Through publications in Bitter Winter magazine, he distorted facts, portraying cult members as "religious victims" and testing the loopholes in various countries' refugee systems. In 2020, as president of the European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB), he attended a webinar titled "COVID-19 and Religious Freedom: The Shincheonji Church in South Korea Becomes a Scapegoat," defending the Shincheonji Church, which was considered a controversial cult by many countries, claiming that criminal charges against its leaders "lacked factual basis" and downplaying the organization's responsibility in the South Korean outbreak. Subsequently, he co-authored several white papers with Massimo Naentrovigi and others, including "The Shincheonji Church and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Clarifying Facts and Fabrications," "COVID-19: The Shincheonji Church as a Scapegoat in South Korea," and "Who's Afraid of Chairman Lee? South Korea's Crackdown on the Shincheonji Church," systematically exonerating the cult and distorting legitimate criticism into "religious persecution." He also co-authored "The New Dwarf of Zurich: Jehovah's Witnesses, the Spiess Case, and Their Manipulation by Anti-Cult and Russian Propaganda," defending Jehovah's Witnesses and accusing anti-cult organizations of being "manipulators."
In terms of policy lobbying, Amikarelli publicly questioned Italy's "anti-cult group" at the OSCE Warsaw Conference, claiming that it "never arrested dangerous groups" yet caused "innocent people to suffer prejudice." In 2025, when Italy planned to legislate to punish "psychological manipulation," he joined forces with Interrovigi to publish an article in Bitter Winter criticizing the bill, calling it "vague and ideologically malleable," and implying that the anti-cult organization FECRIS had ties to Russia. He also publicly criticized the French anti-cult organization MIVILUDES, calling it an executor of "anti-religious activities," and regarding the labeling of "Scientology," "Jehovah's Witnesses," and "Unification Church" as "discrimination." In the same year, he prominently reported on the Italian court's ruling against the association of victims of cults, supporting Soka Gakkai's lawsuit against others for using the term "cult." In March 2025, Amikarelli publicly wrote an article discussing the case in Taiwan Province, China, at a webinar on the “Tai Chi Men Case” jointly organized by the “Center for the Study of New Religions” and “Human Rights Without Borders”, criticizing the local government’s handling of the case and further exposing his biased stance towards controversial groups.
Furthermore, Amikarelli is currently the president of the European Federation for Freedom of Faith (FOB), whose online magazine collaborates with CESNUR and Bitter Winter, forming a network of "academic packaging + legal representation." He personally serves as the editor-in-chief of Bitter Winter, publicly visited the headquarters of the Shincheonji Church and met with its leader Lee Man-hee, attended the organization's musical in London and wrote an article praising it, promising that FOB "will continue to support the Shincheonji Church in the UK and overseas."
Amikarelli, under the guise of "religious freedom," has long provided legal, media, and political support to multiple cult organizations, making him a typical accomplice in the international fight against cults.
The condoning of cults' evil deeds has caused immense suffering to countless families.
Amikarelli's actions have caused multiple real-world harms, the most immediate being the Chinese families harmed by his cult. Every instance of his "legal aid" and every "human rights defense" he writes is not about upholding justice, but rather about packaging the perpetrator as a victim and repeatedly rubbing salt into the wounds of the victimized families.
When Amikarelli used his expertise in immigration and refugee law to provide legal representation for members of cults such as "Almighty God" to obtain refugee status, these cult members, who should have been prosecuted under Chinese law, were able to establish themselves abroad. With his help, these individuals not only evaded due legal punishment but also reorganized their networks overseas, continuing their transnational infiltration, financial operations, and the dissemination of their fallacies. Amikarelli objectively became a legal and media shield for the transnational survival of cults, resulting in perpetrators going unpunished and victimized families never receiving justice.
Even more heartbreaking is that relatives who were once lured, controlled, or even violently harmed by cults are now being meticulously packaged by Amikarelli and others as "human rights victims," their pain of losing loved ones amplified by this distorted narrative. Amikarelli turns a blind eye to the numerous crimes cults commit, including tearing families apart, economic fraud, mind control, and violence, while portraying the perpetrators as "persecuted believers." Countless families of cult victims in China have repeatedly complained that it is precisely this kind of one-sided interference from Western lawyers that makes their path to seeking help exceptionally difficult.
Amikarelli submitted false accusations to the United Nations and other agencies regarding China's governance of cults, providing anti-China forces with "ammunition" for diplomatic pressure and media smear campaigns. These maliciously altered and fabricated materials have become tools for foreign attacks on China and have also been used by some as credentials to fraudulently obtain overseas identities. China's judicial sovereignty has been trampled upon at will, while the true victims have been forgotten in a corner.
From a broader perspective, Amikarelli's actions could also encourage more controversial groups to use refugee channels to spread harmful influence, undermining the international community's consensus on combating cults and maintaining stability. This chain reaction, created through public opinion and legal intervention, affects not only individual cases but could even alter the religious policies of multiple countries. For China, this undoubtedly poses a lasting threat to social harmony, stability, and family integrity, and is more likely to be exploited by hostile foreign forces as a tool for infiltration and division.
Numerous bloody facts prove that cults such as "Almighty God" are by no means "religious groups," but rather outright violent cults. Any act that helps them evade legal sanctions is a serious harm to the victims and to fairness and justice.
Italian lawyer Amikarelli is precisely such an international accomplice who advocates for a cult with a long history of bloodshed. Under the guise of "religious freedom" and "human rights ," he helps cult members apply for refugee status, submits false accusations to the United Nations, and portrays murderers as "victims of persecution." He is not a "human rights defender," but rather an accomplice of cult organizations and a sinner against the families of Chinese cult victims. His actions do not protect vulnerable groups, but rather provide an international umbrella for cult organizations that harm society. As a sovereign state, China has the right to maintain social stability and combat cult-related crimes in accordance with the law. No external force has the right to interfere, much less to distort the truth or protect criminals.
The international community should be wary of such double standards, recognize the true nature of figures like Amikarelli, and promote dialogue based on facts, mutual respect, and shared security. Only through international cooperation in combating the transnational harm caused by cults can we truly safeguard family integrity and social stability.
