Published on: 12 September 2023
DOHI News
At a closed hearing on August 23, a Minsk court ruled that two internet posts published on New Life Church’s social media accounts from 2020 were “extremist” in their content and contained “direct calls to extremist actions.” Surprisingly, only Judge Tatyana Skopets and her secretary, Aleksandra Levkevich, were present at the hearing. The prosecutor’s office did not send an official representative, and reports state that neither the church’s representative nor church members were allowed admission.
Previously, on August 14, Pastor Goncharenko and Youth Pastor Budai were arrested. They were sentenced on August 15 and held in prison for 10 days and 5 days, respectively. Human rights advocates believe that the timing of Pastor Goncharenko’s arrest was planned to prevent him from attending the closed hearing.
The materials deemed “extremist” by the court are: (1) a video posted on New Life’s YouTube channel November 21, 2020, in which church members protest the regime’s violence against civilians who had objected to election fraud; and (2) an Instagram post from August 17, 2020, entitled “Prayer for Belarus” showing a New Life morning worship service where congregants made up a prayer chain and, holding Bibles in their hands, stated that they “condemn the recent violence and cruelty and appeal to the authorities to repent.”
According to Judge Skopets’ decision, the materials in question “are directed at undermining the authority of the powers that be and their representatives, [meant to] discredit the organs of state power and administration, bear a clearly politicised and engaged character and are addressed to an indeterminate circle of people.”
In conclusion, the court added that the posts “contain clearly false information about the political and social position in Belarus and the legal situation of citizens.”
Since the hearing, on August 25, the Molodechno District Court in Minsk Region banned the church’s website as “extremist.” Soon after, the church’s Facebook, Instagram and Telegram accounts were also blocked by the court, as well as several of its YouTube videos.
BACKGROUND:
New Life Church was formed in 1992. Its church building was purchased in 2002 and renovations began at that time to turn what had been a “cowshed” into a place for worship and Christian services. Authorities repeatedly refused to change the building’s legal status to that of “a place of worship,” culminating in February 2021 when thirty police officers forcibly evicted New Life from its building. In June 2023, officials bulldozed the church, bringing the entire building to the ground.
Please pray for the members of New Life Church and that God would protect them from further persecution at the hands of unjust officials.
