Belarus: Renewed Monitoring Report on the Repressions Against Priests and Believers by "Our House"

The regime of Aliaksandr Lukashenka continues to persecute priests and believers of various faiths for their civic stance, condemnation of violence and war of Russian against Ukraine. The number of detentions of the priests and believers is growing, and now churches, temples, different places of worship are being confiscated from the believers.

The current monitoring report contains multiple cases of such violations of the right to freedom of conscience and freedom of belief in Belarus in 2020-2022.

 

In this monitoring report "Our House" indicates only the cases of repressions against those who have a rank of priest or is a minister of religion, a religious figure, and also against those who just participated in a church service or in a religious ceremony. 73 such cases have got into this monitoring report, over 110 people were affected. They include 4 women serving in churches and not less than 20 women parishioners.

 

This monitoring report also registers repressions against the St. Symon and Alena (the Red) Church and the Christian Social Center in Minsk, as well as repressions for one spiritual song.

 

Courts claimed fines in the cases stated in this monitoring report for the sum of 112 thousand 792,5 Belarusian rubles. At least 28 resonant cases of dismissal, removal from office and forcing the resignation are known. Also, this monitoring report registers 396 days of arrest. Currently, 97,5 years of total penalty for 12 people in the form of imprisonment have been confirmed. Six more people are waiting for trial and probably even longer terms of imprisonment. Practically all defendants in these cases, convicted to imprisonment or staying in a pre-trial detention facility, have been recognized as political prisoners.

 

The right to freedom of conscience and freedom of belief is violated in Belarus at all levels: from access of priests to prisoners in jails to repressions against priests for praying and last rites for the deceased that for some reason were disliked by the regime while they were alive.

 

You can read the full report here: https://news.house/54763