Belarus Bans Christian Group In Broader Crackdown

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

MINSK/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Authorities in autocratically-ruled Belarus have banned an organization that united leaders of several denominations to highlight reported persecution of devoted Christians in the country, sources confirmed Friday.

Worthy News established that “Christian Vision for Belarus,” registered in neighbouring Lithuania and active since 2020, was banned amid a broader crackdown on Christian groups.

Christians told Worthy News that the troubles began last month on April 1 when the “Belarusian KGB secret police ruled that Christian Vision for Belarus was ‘extremist.”

Soon after, it banned the organization’s website and social media platforms, according to sources familiar with the situation.

“In the process, the KGB specifically identified three of the leaders – Natallia Vasilevich, Natallia Harkovich and Dzmitry Korneyenko,” said advocacy group Voice of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC). The three Orthodox Christians reportedly reside outside of Belarus, apparently to escape prosecution.

“In addition, the government’s Interior Ministry department added the organization’s name to its “banned list” on April 8,” VOMC added.

The day after the official listing, police in the town of Orsha visited Viktor Korneyenko, the father of Dzmitry Korneyenko, Worthy News learned.

DNA SAMPLE

“Confused about what was happening, Viktor did not ask any questions when a DNA sample was demanded of him. On April 10, the police then visited Dzmitry’s mother-in-law in the city of Vitebsk. Later, Dzmitry’s brother, who was contacted on April 23, also received an order to provide a DNA sample. When the brother asked the police why, he was told that the results would make it easier for them to hunt Dzmitry,” VOMC explained.

Christian Vision for Belarus is not the only organization that’s been identified as “extremist.”

Other groups include The Democratic Media Institute, which supports independent media in the region, and the independent Catholic news website Katolik. life, Christians told Worthy News.

Additionally, for “many years, The New Life Full Gospel Church in Minsk experienced repeated harassment from governing officials before being officially closed and receiving the same “extremist” label,” VOMC said.

Worthy News has previously reported on the church’s plight.

VOMC said it had urged prayers for “those who are seeking to promote justice and truth in Belarus” and for the authorities.

The reported banning of a major Christian group in Belarus was believed to add to pressure on Alexander Lukashenko, often referred to by Western officials as “Europe’s last dictator.”

FOREIGN OVSERVERS

He has repeatedly been re-elected as leader in contests that opposition candidates and foreign observers have labelled as “unfair and undemocratic.”

A former state farm director, Lukashenko was first elected president in 1994, following his energetic performance as chairman of the parliamentary anti-corruption committee.

He has managed a balancing act between Russia, his closest economic and political partner, and overtures to the West, while maintaining authoritarian rule at home.

The European Union, Britain, and the United States have imposed sanctions against Belarus because of “political oppression.”

Further sanctions were imposed in 2022 following the country’s role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In January this year, Lukashenko won a seventh consecutive presidential term.

The opposition ignored the vote as its leaders and activists are either jailed or exiled, and no dissent is tolerated inside Belarus, a former Soviet nation maintaining close ties with Russia.

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