Source: www.forum18.org
Date: August 25, 2023
Prosecutor Fyodor Mikhovich refused to explain why he threatened Baptist
Vladimir Burshtyn with criminal prosecution if he continues to share his
faith in public. "I do not know who you are," he told Forum 18. The threat
came after a court fined Burshtyn a month's average pension for sharing his
faith. Border guards detained Greek Catholic Boris Khamaida as he travelled
to a pilgrimage. A jail term prevented him from attending. A draft new
Religion Law is set to reach Parliament in September.
BELARUS: Threatened with criminal prosecution for sharing faith in public
https://www.forum18.org/archiv
By Felix Corley, Forum 18, and Olga Glace, Forum 18
On 27 July, Malorita District Prosecutor Fyodor Mikhovich in the
south-western Brest Region summoned Council of Churches Baptist Vladimir
Burshtyn. The Prosecutor threatened him with criminal prosecution for
"Incitement of racial, ethnic, religious or other social hatred or discord"
if he continues to share his faith in public.
The threat came eight weeks after a court fined Burshtyn – who is in his
seventies – the equivalent of just over a month's average pension for
singing, sharing his faith and offering Christian literature to passers-by
with fellow Baptists in Drogichin (see below).
Burshtyn had earlier been fined in 2005 and 2008 to punish him for
exercising freedom of religion or belief (see below).
Asked why he threatened Burshtyn with possible criminal prosecution,
Prosecutor Mikhovich refused to give any response. "We never refused to
receive him here and we explicitly explained everything to him," he told
Forum 18. "I do not know who you are, and will not give you any additional
information" (see below).
Deputy Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs Sergei Gerasimenya
– who was appointed in the summer - had put the phone down before Forum
18 could ask why Burshtyn had been threatened with criminal prosecution if
he exercises his freedom of religion or belief in future by sharing his
faith in public (see below).
On 28 July, border guards in Bigosovo detained Boris Khamaida, a human
rights defender from Vitebsk and a Greek Catholic, as he was on his way to
join a walking pilgrimage to Holy Trinity Catholic Church at Rositsa, a
pilgrimage he takes part in every year. The pilgrimage commemorates two
Catholic priests among those executed during the Nazi occupation in 1943. A
court jailed Khamaida for 15 days for having a banned symbol on the wallet
of his identity card, preventing him from joining the pilgrimage (see
below).
Asked why his border guards had detained Khamaida as he was on his way to a
pilgrimage, Bigosovo Border Guards Unit head, who did not give his name,
told Forum 18 it was a wrong number and put the phone down (see below).
The restrictive draft new Religion Law is set to reach the lower chamber of
the non-freely elected parliament, the House of Representatives, in
September. If adopted in current form, it would continue and even increase
many of the restrictions on exercising freedom of religion or belief. It
would also require all registered religious communities to gain
re-registration within a year if they wish to continue to function (see
below).
"The draft new Law has not yet reached the House of Representatives," an
official of its Human Rights, Ethnic Relations and the Media Commission
told Forum 18. Asked whether her Commission will lead consideration of the
draft, she responded: "That will be determined by the [House of
Representatives] leadership only when the draft Law has arrived" (see
below).
The Office of the Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs
dismissed all 18 comments and suggestions on the proposed draft Religion
Law posted on the government's legal website during the June consultation
period. It made no mention if submission sent to it directly. Deputy
Plenipotentiary Gerasimenya refused to tell Forum 18 whether the
Plenipotentiary's Office disregarded all submissions on the proposed new
Law or only those sent through the website (see below).
Belarus has not sought a legal review of the draft Law from the OSCE's
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), ODIHR's
spokesperson told Forum 18 (see below).
Meanwhile, Vyacheslav Goncharenko, Pastor of Minsk's New Life Pentecostal
Church, was freed on 24 August after serving in full his 10-day jail term
following his 14 August arrest. He was freed the day after a closed hearing
at Minsk's Central District Court considered a Prosecutor's suit to declare
two internet posts "extremist material" containing "deliberately false
information on political and social situation in the Republic of Belarus".
The Church's youth pastor Ilya Budai was freed on 19 August after serving a
five-day jail term. The regime seized and bulldozed New Life Church and has
already blocked the Church's website (see forthcoming F18News article).
On 16 August, Miory District Court declared the Telegram channel of the
Christian Vision group to be "extremist". The group documents violations of
freedom of religion or belief and other human rights (see forthcoming
F18News article).
Baptist threatened with criminal prosecution if he shares his faith again
in public
On 27 July, Malorita District Prosecutor Fyodor Mikhovich summoned Council
of Churches Baptist Vladimir Burshtyn – who is in his seventies - and
threatened him with prosecution under Criminal Code Article 130 if he
continues to share his faith in public, Baptists told Forum 18.
Criminal Code Article 130 punishes "Incitement of racial, ethnic, religious
or other social hatred or discord", with a maximum punishment of five
years' imprisonment (10 years' imprisonment if violence is involved and 12
years' imprisonment if a group is involved or the action leads to a death).
Burshtyn is a member of the Council of Churches Baptists, who do not seek
state permission to exercise freedom of religion or belief.
Asked why he threatened Burshtyn with possible criminal prosecution,
Prosecutor Mikhovich refused to give any response. "We never refused to
receive him here and we explicitly explained everything to him," he told
Forum 18 from Malorita on 23 August. "I do not know who you are, and will
not give you any additional information."
Deputy Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
– who was appointed in the summer - had put the phone down on 23 August
before Forum 18 could ask why Burshtyn had been threatened with criminal
prosecution if he exercises his freedom of religion or belief in future by
sharing his faith in public.
The authorities consider sharing faith or talking about religion to
passers-by as mass events which are illegal unless individuals have gained
prior state approval.
On 15 April, the day before Orthodox Christian Easter, police arrested
seven young Protestants from several churches who were talking about their
faith with passers-by in central Minsk and took them handcuffed to the
police station. A court fined each about two months' average wages
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
In 2022, courts used Administrative Code Article 24.23, Part 1 ("Violation
of the procedure for organising or conducting a mass event or
demonstration") to punish three Protestant pastors in Gomel for holding
outdoor baptisms, and two Protestant pastors in Minsk
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
in the car park of the confiscated New Life Pentecostal Church.
Baptist's earlier punishments for sharing faith
Vladimir Burshtyn, who lives in Malorita in the south-western Brest Region,
has been repeatedly fined for exercising freedom of religion or belief.
In 2005, an administrative commission fined Burshtyn
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
unregistered congregation in Malorita.
In 2008, a court fined Burshtyn
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
more than two months' average wages for sharing his faith outside a market
in the town of Ushachi in Vitebsk Region. At the time, his fine was the
highest handed down to a member of the Baptist Council of Churches.
In late May 2023, Burshtyn was among a group of Council of Churches
Baptists who travelled to Drogichin, 110 kms (70 miles) from Malorita.
There they shared their faith in the main square
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
musical band. They also offered Christian literature to passers-by.
Two police cars soon arrived. Officers took Burshtyn in one car to the
police station. They took other Baptists in the other. Officers questioned
all of them before letting them go.
Drogichin Police telephoned Burshtyn on 31 May, ordering him to come in the
following day. Officers said he would be issued with a record of an
offence. However, on 1 June officers put him in handcuffs in a corridor and
took him to the temporary detention centre
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
"When his wife and children called, [the police officers] replied that he
was being fed and that he had gone to rest," local Baptists noted. "But
this wasn't true."
On the morning of 2 June, after a night in a cell, Burshtyn was put in
handcuffs again and taken to the court
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
building he saw his wife and children and other church members gathered in
his support and singing. Two officers brought him into the court building,
ordering church members out of the corridor.
However, after about an hour and a half, officers took Burshtyn back to the
detention centre, telling those who had gathered in his support that the
hearing had been rescheduled for 5 pm that day. Officials would not say
where the hearing would be held.
Officials took Burshtyn to the police station at about 5 pm, where a "very
speedy hearing" took place under Judge Leonty Stankevich. Burshtyn rejected
the charges, insisting that "preaching the Gospel is not a violation of
public order". The Judge fined him
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Belarusian Roubles under Administrative Code Article 24.23 ("Violation of
the procedure for organising or conducting a mass event or demonstration"),
Part 1. This is equivalent to just over a month's average pension or about
two weeks' average wage.
The court sent Burshtyn the written decision by post. As he was away from
home he missed the deadline for filing an appeal, Baptists noted. He then
appealed to the Prosecutor's Office to be able to challenge the court
decision. He pointed out that the decision wrongly states that the public
sharing of faith was on 27 September (instead of the correct date of 27
May).
Blocked from going on pilgrimage
On the morning of 28 July, border guards detained Boris Khamaida, a human
rights defender from Vitebsk and a Greek Catholic, at Bigosovo station 6
kms (4 miles) from the northern border with Latvia. The 75-year-old
Khamaida was thus prevented from joining the annual pilgrimage on foot to
Holy Trinity Catholic Church at Rositsa, a pilgrimage he takes part in
every year.
Holy Trinity Church contains a shrine to two local Catholic priests, Fr
Antoni Leszczewicz and Fr Jerzy Kaszyra, who were among those killed in a
punitive operation in February 1943 during the Nazi occupation. The
Catholic Church has beatified the two as martyrs. This year, the pilgrimage
marked the 80th anniversary of the priests' deaths.
The Church website announcing the 28 and 29 July commemoration includes a
note: "Warning! As Rositsa is located in a border zone, it is necessary to
have your identity document with you."
When in the train the border guards asked Khamaida to show his identity
document, they saw that Khamaida kept it in a wallet decorated with the
Pahonia, the mounted rider which had been the emblem of Belarus between
1991 and 1995, which Lukashenko regards as an opposition symbol.
At Bigosovo station, border guards ordered Khamaida off the train and
detained him on the platform, Nasha Niva news website noted on 29 July.
They took him to Verkhnedvinsk. On 31 July, Verkhnedvinsk District Court
jailed him for 15 days on unknown charges, Viasna (Spring) human rights
group noted on 3 August. He was freed on the afternoon of 12 August. The
Court refused to give Forum 18 any information about the case on 25 August.
(Five Viasna members are currently serving prison terms to punish them for
their defence of human rights. On 23 August, the Interior Ministry labelled
Viasna an "extremist formation" and banned its activities including its
website and many of its other social media, adding the group to the "List
of organisations, formations and individual entrepreneurs linked to
extremist activities".)
On 25 August, the duty officer at Bigosovo Border Guards Unit put Forum 18
through to its head. Asked why his border guards had detained Khamaida as
he was on his way to a pilgrimage, the Unit head, who did not give his
name, told Forum 18 it was a wrong number and put the phone down.
Deputy Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
had put the phone down on 23 August before Forum 18 could ask why Khamaida
was prevented from joining the pilgrimage to Rositsa.
Proposed new Religion Law to reach Parliament in September
On 2 June, the regime made public on its legal website
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
proposed new Religion Law, prepared by the Plenipotentiary for Religious
and Ethnic Affairs (https://www.forum18.org/archi
Aleksandr Rumak. The website said the draft Law was open for public
comments from 5 to 15 June.
The proposed new Religion Law harshens the restrictive 2002 Religion Law,
which human rights defenders at the time publicly condemned.
The proposed new Law would among other things
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
- continue to require all religious communities to gain state registration
before they are allowed to operate;
- ban "the activity of unregistered religious organisations";
- impose compulsory re-registration within one year on all registered
religious communities, paralleling earlier demands on political parties and
other public associations;
- impose even tighter registration restrictions and conditions;
- make extensive and arbitrary use of the undefined terms "extremism",
"terrorism", and "the ideology of the Belarusian state" to justify
restricting the exercise of freedom of religion or belief and related
fundamental freedoms;
- give the regime new powers for regime to inspect and monitor religious
communities;
- give greater "legal" possibilities for the regime to forcibly close
religious communities;
- continue and increase censorship and restrictions on religious literature
and items, including banning educational establishments from including
religious literature in their libraries;
- impose new restrictions on religious education by religious communities,
as well as increasing regime surveillance of this;
- aim to separate religious communities from involvement with wider
society;
- and impose new restrictions on religious charitable activity.
The draft text of the proposed new Law would require all registered
religious communities to bring their statutes into line with the provisions
of the new Law and apply for re-registration within one year. It appears
that if religious communities fail to get the compulsory re-registration,
all their activity would become illegal.
The proposed draft new Religion Law is due to reach the lower chamber of
the non-freely elected Parliament, the House of Representatives, in
September, according to the annual plan of new legislation. The autumn
session of the House of Representatives is due to start on 19 September,
according to its website.
"The draft new Law has not yet reached the House of Representatives," an
official of its Human Rights, Ethnic Relations and the Media Commission
told Forum 18 from Minsk on 24 August. Asked whether her Commission will
lead consideration of the draft, she responded: "That will be determined by
the [House of Representatives] leadership only when the draft Law has
arrived."
Belarus has not sought a legal review
(https://www.osce.org/odihr/le
OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). "ODIHR
hasn't so far received a request from the Belarusian authorities to review
the draft law, but we would be ready and willing to do so if asked," ODIHR
spokesperson Katya Andrusz reiterated on 24 August, following an initial
comment to Forum 18 in June
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Officials disregard comments on proposed new Religion Law
The Plenipotentiary's Office
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
18 comments and suggestions on the proposed draft Religion Law had been
posted on the government's legal website during the June consultation
period. However, it dismissed all these comments.
"According to the organiser of the consultation," the government's legal
website quoted the Plenipotentiary's Office as declaring, "the proposals
received were not taken into account, since they do not establish new and
fundamentally changing existing approaches to the legal regulation of a
certain area of public relations."
Some religious communities published their comments on the draft Law or
sent them directly to the Plenipotentiary's Office
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Deputy Plenipotentiary Sergei Gerasimenya refused to tell Forum 18 on 23
August whether the Plenipotentiary's Office disregarded all submissions on
the proposed new Law or only those sent through the website. He refused to
answer any other questions. (END)
Full reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Belarus
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
For more background, see Forum 18's Belarus religious freedom survey
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Forum 18's compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in
Europe (OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
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