GORBOVICHI, Belarus — The prosecutor who authorized a six-hour raid on a Protestant Sunday worship service in a private home in eastern Belarus has refused to explain why it happened.
“It was an official action and I can’t discuss it,” said Vitaly Kovalev, prosecutor of the Chausy District. He also refused to say what will be done with boxes of Bibles, Christian books and films confiscated during the raid, or whether the church’s pastor, Irina Marshalkovska-Grik, will face further action. Anna Danisevich, an official of the district’s Ideology Department, led the raid Oct. 25 with four police officers and three “witnesses” as some 20 church members were singing hymns.
Danisevich denied the raid was a raid. “We acted strictly in accordance with the law. We live in a democratic state,” she said. When asked why she and officials stayed at the house for six hours, she said it was “to prevent them from continuing their worship service.”
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