A Belarusian Catholic priest was sentenced to 11 years in prison for treason
after criticizing President Alexander Lukashenko, marking the first political
conviction of a clergyman since the nation’s 1991 independence.
Father Henrykh Akalatovich was sentenced December 30 after a
closed-door trial, where the Minsk Regional Court, in the nation’s capital,
found him guilty of “treason against the state” for criticizing
President Alexander Lukashenko, who is running for re-election in the January
26 presidential race. This marks the first time since Belarus gained
independence in 1991 that a Catholic clergyman has been convicted on purely
political grounds.
The 64-year-old priest, pastor of a parish in Valozyn within the Archdiocese
of Minsk-Mohilev, was arrested in November 2023. He spent over a year in
detention at the local intelligence pre-trial center, with no information
disclosed about the reasons for his arrest or the specific charges leading to
his conviction. According to the human rights
group Viasna, the priest’s health is a serious concern as he suffered a heart
attack and underwent stomach cancer surgery shortly before his arrest, thus necessitating ongoing medical care.
Political repression
The conviction occurred amid a backdrop of
intensifying political repression, which has sharply increased since August
2020, when President Lukashenko was re-elected for a sixth term. Since then,
numerous political opponents have been imprisoned or forced into exile, and
protests have been violently suppressed.
Father Akalatovich now joins the list of 1,265
political prisoners documented by Viasna. While such a harsh sentence is
unprecedented for a Catholic priest, members of the clergy—particularly
Catholic and Protestant—have frequently been targeted by the regime.
Authorities suspect them of sheltering regime opponents during mass protests or
supporting Ukraine, given Belarus’s close alliance with Russia.
Christian Vision, the ecumenical organization,
has identified 86 religious leaders persecuted since 2020, including 36
Catholics and 30 Protestants. In this predominantly Orthodox country, Catholics
make up 14% of the population, while Protestants account for around 2%. Until
now, Catholic priests were typically punished with fines, brief prison
sentences, or subjected to harassment and intimidation, such as the
confiscation of their cell phones.
European
Parliament resolution
One recurring justification for religious
repression is involvement in “extremist activities” or the possession
or dissemination of “extremist material,” a term used to encompass
independent media, websites, social media, and symbols of peaceful protest. In
July 2024, authorities shut down the independent website katolik.life
and its Telegram channel, which documented Catholic Church activities in
Belarus, arrests of clergy and believers, and accounts of torture. Viasna described the year 2024 as “the darkest and most repressive year
for Belarusian media.”
On March 15, 2023, the European Parliament, aware
of the severe repression faced by the Belarusian people, adopted a resolution
explicitly condemning “the persecution of religious figures and laypeople
who, within their religious activities, refuse to support Lukashenko’s regime
or express disagreement with his policies.”
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Publish date : 2025-01-06 02:47:00
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