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Belarus officials threaten pastor, congregants with prosecution

  • November 23, 2021
  • Leigh Pritchett
  • Europe, Persecuted Church, Religious freedom/Religious liberty
New Life Church outdoor worship in church car park, Minsk, 29 August 2021
New Life Church

Belarus officials threaten pastor, congregants with prosecution

MINSK, Belarus — The pastor and members of New Life Pentecostal Church in Minsk have been threatened with administrative and criminal charges if they continue to hold worship services in the parking lot, according to rights group Forum 18.

The members have worshipped weekly in the parking lot — even during inclement weather — since Feb. 17 when the state evicted the church from its building, the report says. Church members vow to continue the worship services.

Authorities — from local to Parliament — have warned Pastor Vyacheslav Goncharenko of the possibility of prosecution for such charges as organizing and participating in illegal meetings and not seeking state permission for mass meetings. The report says the eviction is part of a 15-year battle over the building that the state has claimed.

Additionally, officials are demanding $180,000 in property taxes, even though a December 2005 presidential decree exempts churches, the report states.

In another matter, two Protestant charities are among 50 nongovernmental organizations ordered in July to be liquidated, allegedly on the grounds of foreign funding, Forum 18 states.

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