Source: www.MNNonline.org
Date: November 14, 2023
https://www.forum18.org/archiv
By Felix Corley, Forum 18, and Olga Glace, Forum 18
On 17 October, Minsk City Court ordered the liquidation of New Life Full
Gospel Church. Yekaterina Kaverina of Minsk City Executive Committee had
called in court for its liquidation because local courts had found some of
the Church's online materials "extremist". She also claimed that the Church
had conducted activity not set out in its statute. The Church has appealed
to the Supreme Court against the liquidation decision, which does not go
into force until the appeal is heard.
No date has yet been set for the appeal hearing. "We are waiting," a church
member told Forum 18 from Minsk on 14 November.
Courts have banned a range of religious materials as "extremist," even
though they do not call for violations of the human rights of others,
including materials from New Life Church, the Christian Vision group and
the Belarusian Orthodox parish in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius (see
below).
New Life Church continues its meetings for worship online or in borrowed
churches. The regime ousted the Church from its own place of worship in
February 2021 and bulldozed the building in June 2023 (see below).
Deputy Head of Minsk City Executive Committee's Ideology, Religion, and
Ethnic Affairs Coordination Department Kaverina refused to explain why she
had sought in court the liquidation of New Life Church. "This decision was
taken by the court, so call and ask them," she told Forum 18 (see below).
Forum 18 was unable to reach Judge Tatyana Doroshchenok of Minsk City Court
to find out why she ordered New Life Church liquidated. Her secretary
refused to put it through to her. "We do not direct calls to judges," she
told Forum 18 (see below).
Any activity by unregistered or liquidated religious communities can lead
to prosecution under Criminal Code Article 193-1. This punishes
"organisation of or participation in activity by an unregistered political
party, foundation, civil or religious organisation" with a fine or
imprisonment for up to two years (see below).
Deputy Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs Sergei Gerasimenya
refused to explain how members of New Life Church will be able to exercise
their freedom of religion or belief if the Supreme Court upholds the lower
court's liquidation decision. "We give no comments by phone," he repeatedly
told Forum 18 (see below).
In August 2021, the regime issued a large tax demand against New Life
Church. It renewed the demand in July 2023, lodging a case to court in
September 2023, which ruled largely in favour of the Church on 1 November
(see below).
Years of state pressure
New Life Church was founded in Minsk in 1992, gaining state registration in
December of that year. The Church is a member of the Full Gospel Union,
headed by Bishop Leonid Voronenko, and has been led since its foundation by
Pastor Vyacheslav Goncharenko.
New Life Church, bought its building - a former cowshed on the western edge
of Minsk – in 2002. The Church converted the building into its place of
worship, turning it into a spacious, modern structure, but the regime
refused to change its legal designation as a cowshed
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
to a disused railway carriage 500 metres from New Life's building which was
without regime obstruction used from January 2001 by a Belarusian Orthodox
Church (Moscow Patriarchate) community. That community has now built a
church, also without any regime obstruction.
The regime repeatedly tried to evict New Life Church from 2009 onwards, and
on 17 February 2021 30 police and court bailiffs forcibly evicted New Life
from its building (https://www.forum18.org/archi
using an angle grinder to cut the door lock to gain entry. The bailiff's
enforcement order was signed by Aleksey Petrukovich, and he refused to
explain to Forum 18 why the eviction happened and why force was used.
One New Life Church member suspected that the reason for the sudden
eviction was that New Life recorded and on 21 November 2020 posted on its
YouTube channel a video by church members protesting against the regime's
violence against protestors objecting to election fraud
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
After being expelled from its own place of worship, New Life Church held
its worship services in the car park outside each Sunday, whatever the
weather. Minsk City Executive Committee, subsequently rejected all New Life
Church's attempts to seek permission to hold meetings either in the car
park, or to have their church building returned to them, and threatened to
liquidate the Church (https://www.forum18.org/archi
New Life's Pastor Vyacheslav Goncharenko was detained and fined in
September 2022 (https://www.forum18.org/archi
Administrative Code Article 24.23 ("Violation of the procedure for
organising or conducting a mass event or demonstration"). Pastor Antoni
Bokun of Minsk's John the Baptist Pentecostal Church, who regularly
supported New Life Church, was similarly detained and fined.
On 25 September 2022, police banned the Church's Sunday meeting for worship
held outdoors (https://www.forum18.org/archi
car park, threatening to detain anyone who did not leave. This forced New
Life to halt the in-person worship meetings it had held in the church car
park every Sunday, whatever the weather, since the February 2021 forcible
eviction. The Church continues to hold meetings online or in other
churches' premises.
On 20 June 2023, New Life's church building was bulldozed
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
ordered by Capital Construction Management Company, owned by Minsk City
Executive Committee – within a day reduced much of the building to
rubble. Neither Capital Construction, the Office of the Plenipotentiary for
Religious and Ethnic Affairs, nor Minsk City Executive Committee would
explain to New Life or Forum 18 why New Life's church building was
destroyed.
The regime has used a variety of threats against New Life and other
religious communities it dislikes, including an August 2021 tax demand
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Belarusian Roubles. According to state figures, this is equivalent to more
than 25 years' average wages for someone in work.
On 18 July 2023, New Life received an official letter (seen by Forum 18)
renewing the tax demand. Housing Repair and Utilities Association Deputy
Head Nataliya Kalistratova refused on 15 August 2023 to explain to Forum 18
why the 2021 tax claim was being renewed
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
In September 2023, the Housing Repair and Utilities Association lodged a
suit against the Church to Minsk Economic Court
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
compensation for land tax. However, the Court ruled largely in favour of
the Church on 1 November (see below)
Liquidation suit
On 15 September, Minsk City Executive Committee lodged a liquidation suit
against New Life Church to Minsk City Court. The Church received the
official notification signed by the Deputy Head of Minsk City Executive
Committee Artyom Tsuran and a copy of the suit.
Deputy Head of Minsk City Executive Committee's Ideology, Religion, and
Ethnic Affairs Coordination Department Yekaterina Kaverina cited Minsk's
Central District Court decision of 23 August declaring some of the Church's
information "extremist"
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Religion Law Article 23, Part 1, "a community can be liquidated based on a
court decision in the following cases: propaganda of war or extremist
activities; activities violating citizens' rights, freedom and legal
interests, and preventing citizens from fulfilling their state, social,
family duties or harming their health and morality."
New Life's website was blocked without warning on 25 July
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
which the regime has used with the excuse of alleged "extremism" against
many organisations. Minsk Prosecutor Oleg Lavrukhin banned the website for
6 months, accusing the Church of publishing "extremist" information and
"building up threats to national security, which includes artificially
whipping up tensions in society and inciting social hostility or discord
through the dissemination of false information."
Lavrukhin particularly objected to internet posts protesting against the
2020 fraudulent presidential election, regime violence against protestors,
and the regime's violations of the rule of law.
"The authorities themselves chose the quotations, but the posted
information reflects the real situation in our country," a Belarusian human
rights defender who wished to remain anonymous for fear of state reprisals
told Forum 18 in August
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
In the claim to the court, Deputy Head of Ideology, Religion, and Ethnic
Affairs Coordination Department Kaverina also insisted that the church
failed to re-register in 2004 according to the 2002 Religion Law
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
activities beyond its statute. (A more repressive Religion Law is currently
going through the regime's parliament
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
"In the result of the investigation conducted by Molodechno Investigation
Committee of the road accident on 10 July [2023] involving children going
on a trip organised by the community, it is detected that besides the
statutory activities the community conducted activities non-compliant to
the goals and subjects indicated in the statute," the suit claimed.
New Life Church organises camps for children every summer, and on 10 July a
bus carrying 50 children overturned due to a poorly-maintained road. No
serious injuries were reported, and parents have not made any complaints
about the accident (https://www.forum18.org/archi
the camps, or New Life Church and its leadership.
On the same day, the state-controlled media Minsk Pravda published online a
detailed report of the accident quoting the participants and the officials
dealing with it. The article was written in neutral tones, without any
criticism, stating that the reason for the accident was the poor quality of
the road surface.
The next day, Minsk Pravda published a totally different article, and
almost immediately Minsk Prosecutor's Office started summoning people
connected with the summer camp for questioning.
On 3 August, Minsk's Oktyabrsky District Tax Office requested New Life's
annual financial reports, as well as documents relating to the Excurs Trans
Company which transported the children. A Protestant who knows the
situation, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of state reprisals,
commented to Forum 18 on 8 August
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
accident was being used as an excuse for the authorities to put pressure on
the Church. "They found an excuse to set the ball rolling," the Protestant
told Forum 18
Minsk City Court held an initial hearing in the liquidation suit on 6
October.
Only "super narrow circle" allowed to attend court hearing
On the morning of 17 October, Judge Tatyana Doroshchenok of Minsk City
Court began hearing the case for the liquidation of New Life Full Gospel
Church.
As well as New Life Church's Pastor Vyacheslav Goncharenko, about 30 church
members came to Minsk City Court for the hearing. Also present to support
the Church was Sergiy Melyanets, a member of a different Protestant Church
who often attends court hearings to support Christians on trial. However,
despite the availability of a larger courtroom with about 20 benches for
spectators, the court chose a smaller room with only 5 benches.
"Everyone, including the judges' secretaries, understands the absurdity of
the situation and the idea of switching halls is in the air," Melyanets
noted on Facebook the following day. "But .. in the best traditions of the
'Belarusian judicial system' they left everything as it was. And even more:
'Covid restrictions' came up again and only one person per bench was
allowed into the small hall." He noted that he was among the "super narrow
circle" allowed to attend the hearing.
Judge orders Church liquidated
During the 17 October hearing under Judge Tatyana Doroshchenok at Minsk
City Court, which lasted two and a half hours, three petitions on behalf of
New Life Church from three Protestant church Unions representing some 850
congregations were admitted.
Deputy Head of Minsk City Executive Committee's Ideology, Religion, and
Ethnic Affairs Coordination Department Yekaterina Kaverina then called for
the Church's liquidation because local courts had found some of the
Church's online materials "extremist".
"Her logic is simple: posting information that was recently recognised as
extremist on the church's information resources (a video in which
parishioners in 2020 talk about the unacceptability of cruelty and several
photographs in which children from the church stand with posters) means
that the church is extremist," Sergiy Melyanets noted the following day.
"And the fact that the video and photos were deleted immediately after the
court's decision does not change anything for the Executive Committee."
Deputy Head of Minsk City Executive Committee's Ideology, Religion, and
Ethnic Affairs Coordination Department Kaverina also claimed that the
Church had conducted activity not set out in its statute. The court
decision – seen by Forum 18 – does not specify what that activity was.
Pastor Goncharenko and the Church's lawyer Svetlana Gorbatok both pointed
to the large amount of social work the Church had undertaken, often working
together with the Executive Committee.
"We do not discredit the authorities and the state," Melyanets quoted
Pastor Goncharenko as telling the court. "We have worked all these years
and created a good name through the good deeds that we have done for 31
years. We were engaged purely in preaching the Gospel, in what the Lord put
in our hearts, to what we are called."
Church members testified to how New Life Church had helped them in their
lives. Among them was Valery Fadeyev, who retired as deputy head of the
Constitutional Court in 1996 and has been a member of the Church since
2008. "I want to make clear that if the Church is liquidated, it will be a
mistake, because this Church gives people hope," Melyanets quoted him as
telling the court. "It brings peace, love and goodness."
Fadeyev insisted that materials produced by New Life Church which courts
had banned as "extremist" should not have been. "I believe that these
materials can hardly be considered extremist," he told the court.
"It fell to me to write the constitution of the Republic of Belarus in
1994," Fadeyev pointed out. "When the issue of extremism arose, I
specifically studied the law, looked at the definitions, and, in my
opinion, this situation [with New Life Church] does not correspond to the
concept of 'extremism'."
Melyanets described the Judge as "clearly confused" by Fadeyev's remarks.
"The person who stood at the origins of the Constitution of our Republic
and whose daughter is a judge speaks clearly about the legal illiteracy of
the judicial system, of which she is a representative. There was an awkward
pause." Judge Doroshchenok then pointed to the court decisions banning some
of New Life's online materials as "extremist".
In his closing remarks to the court, Pastor Goncharenko appealed for the
Church not to be liquidated. He handed to the Judge 42 pages of letters of
thanks the Church had received. The Judge then handed the letters to Deputy
Head of Minsk City Executive Committee's Ideology, Religion, and Ethnic
Affairs Coordination Department Kaverina.
"She sits and thoughtfully turns over the pages," Melyanets noted. "I look
at her and think: maybe even now something is stirring in her soul and
heart. Doesn't she really understand what she was striving for? But it was
not there. It turned out that the ideologist was studying not the contents
of the letters, but the dates of these letters of gratitude. Then she
stated that the dates are 'not recent' and she believes that today these
thanks are not relevant to the case."
In her summing up, Judge Doroshchenok noted the Church's large amount of
social work for the community. This gave church members hope that when she
returned after considering the decision, she might reject the liquidation
suit.
However, when Judge Doroshchenok returned at 2:30 pm to give her decision,
she acceded to Kaverina's request and ordered the liquidation of New Life
Church, according to the decision seen by Forum 18. She also ordered the
Church to pay a state fee of 111 Belarusian Roubles. This is the equivalent
of about two days' average wage.
"We do not direct calls to judges"
Deputy Head of Minsk City Executive Committee's Ideology, Religion, and
Ethnic Affairs Coordination Department Yekaterina Kaverina refused to
explain why she had sought in court the liquidation of New Life Church.
"This decision was taken by the court, so call and ask them," she told
Forum 18 on 20 October.
Forum 18 tried to find out from Judge Tatyana Doroshchenok of Minsk City
Court why she ordered New Life Church liquidated. However, her secretary
refused to put it through to her. "We do not direct calls to judges," she
told Forum 18 on 20 October.
Church appeals against liquidation
Once it had the 17 October court decision in writing, New Life Church
lodged an appeal to the Supreme Court. No date has yet been set for the
hearing. "We are waiting," a church member told Forum 18 from Minsk on 14
November. The liquidation decision does not enter into force until the
appeal is heard.
New Life Church continues its meetings for worship online and in borrowed
churches. If the Supreme Court upholds the lower court's liquidation
decision, any activity by the Church would risk punishment for its leaders
and participants.
Any activity by unregistered or liquidated religious communities can lead
to prosecution under Criminal Code Article 193-1
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
"organisation of or participation in activity by an unregistered political
party, foundation, civil or religious organisation" with a fine or
imprisonment for up to two years.
Sergei Gerasimenya, the regime's Deputy Plenipotentiary for Religious and
Ethnic Affairs, refused to explain how members of New Life Church will be
able to exercise their freedom of religion or belief if the Supreme Court
upholds the liquidation decision. "We give no comments by phone," he
repeatedly told Forum 18 from Minsk on 14 November.
New Life: Tax demand in court largely "ended in our favour"
The regime has used a variety of threats against New Life and other
religious communities it dislikes, including an August 2021 tax demand
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Belarusian Roubles. According to state figures, this is equivalent to more
than 25 years' average wages for someone in work.
On 18 July 2023, New Life received an official letter (seen by Forum 18)
renewing the tax demand. It was signed by Moscow District's Housing Repairs
and Utilities Association Deputy Director Nataliya Kalistratova, claiming
that "until the moment of forced eviction (17.02.2021) the Housing Repairs
and Utilities Association has been bearing expenses on land and property
taxes and on the permanent non-residential building depreciation." In the
claim the authorities threatened to apply to the economic court if the
debts are not paid.
Under the Presidential Decree on Tax Exemption of Religious Organisations
of 1 December 2005, New Life Church is not subject to land and property
taxes. However, this privilege does not extend to the Housing Repairs and
Utilities Association, to which the city administration handed the Church's
land in 2005 and its building in 2009. The Housing Repairs and Utilities
Association shifted the burden of taxation to the Church, sending eviction
demands to the economic courts
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Housing Repair and Utilities Association Deputy Head Kalistratova refused
on 15 August 2023 to explain to Forum 18 why the 2021 tax claim was being
renewed (https://www.forum18.org/archi
In September 2023, the Housing Repair and Utilities Association lodged a
suit against the Church to Minsk Economic Court
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
compensation for land tax.
At the initial hearing on 11 September, Judge Katrin Drozdovskaya suspended
consideration of the suit, asking the parties to provide more information
and documents.
"The Housing Repair and Utilities Association was asked to present the
documents confirming its payment of the rent, and we were asked to show the
documents proving ownership of the property," Pastor Goncharenko told Forum
18 on 2 October.
On 1 November, Judge Drozdovskaya issued her decision, church members told
Forum 18. "We can say that it ended in our favour. But not 100 per cent. Of
the approximately 460,000 Roubles they originally demanded from us, we were
ordered to pay only about 9,000 Roubles [equivalent to about 5 months'
average wages]. So this is a big victory. And given the context of
everything that is happening, it is a miracle."
More "extremist" designations
The Republican List of Extremist Materials
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
xenophobic and racist works (such as Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf"), as well
as material produced by the political opposition and foreign-based news
websites. It also includes some religious works that do not call for the
violation of anyone's human rights. All had been banned as "extremist" by a
local court.
On 26 December 2022 the list was 480 pages long, and the List has been
expanding rapidly as ever more publications, websites and internet postings
are declared "extremist". On 13 November 2023 the List was 773 pages long.
Deputy Information Minister Igor Buzovsky, who is also Deputy Chair of the
"Republican Expert Commission for the Evaluation of Symbols, Attributes,
and Information Products for the presence (or absence) in them of signs of
Extremism", defended the banning of specific publications and websites as
"extremist". "This is done exclusively on the basis of the law," he
insisted to Forum 18 in January 2023
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Among the "extremist" materials are online publications by the Christian
Vision (https://belarus2020.churchby.
from various Christian Churches across Belarus formed the group in
September 2020, amid protests against the falsified presidential elections,
to document violations of freedom of religion or belief and other human
rights.
On 16 August 2023, Miory District Court in Vitebsk Region
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Vision's Telegram channel (https://t.me/s/christianvisio
7 September, Lida District Court again declared Christian Vision's Telegram
channel "extremist", as well as the group's logo. Also on 7 September,
Vitebsk's October District Court declared Christian Vision's Instagram,
Facebook, Twitter and VKontakte pages "extremist".
On 20 October, Baranovichi District and City Court declared the Telegram
channel of the Belarusian Orthodox parish in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius
(https://t.me/ortovilnya) "extremist". Parish priests Fr Georgi Roi and Fr
Aleksandr Kukhta left Belarus in April 2023. The two then left the
jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Ecumenical Patriarchate
accepted them. They established the parish in Vilnius, holding their first
service (for Easter Sunday) in a Lutheran church on 16 April. The parish
then found its own premises in the city centre.
"The parish itself has not yet been recognised as an extremist
organisation, only the Telegram channel," Fr Georgi and Fr Aleksandr wrote
on the Telegram channel on 24 October. "This means that if you live in
Belarus, be veeeery careful when reading our news. After all, for this you
could get a criminal case. But if you are passing through Vilnius, please
visit!"
The authorities have also declared "extremist" several online resources
that include material on religion in their output.
On 7 September, Minsk's Lenin District Court declared the Telegram channel
Sluchac hadko! (https://t.me/rerumnovarum) (formerly Rerum Novarum)
"extremist". The channel, run by an emigre Catholic and Christian Democrat
supporter and originally named after an 1891 encyclical by Pope Leo XIII,
covers religious and other news.
On 23 October, Lida District Court declared the Telegram channel of the
Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum (https://t.me/skarynalibrary)
in London "extremist", as well as its logo. The library was originally
founded by Catholic priests. It is an academic library containing a wide
range of material on history and culture, including on religion.
Among the other banned "extremist materials" on the List
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
news website, a YouTube interview with a Catholic priest who fled to
neighbouring Poland in 2021 to escape prosecution, an introduction to
Orthodoxy published in Russia's capital Moscow, and several Muslim books.
Anyone who distributes any of these works risks criminal prosecution. (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 for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
freedom of religion or belief commitments
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
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