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    Belarus police arrest three Catholic priests for reasons unknown

    This was reported by the Belarusian human rights watchdogs, CREDO saw.

    Two priests of the Latin rite and a Greek Catholic priest were arrested on May 25 in three settlements of the Vitebsk region.

    The authorities seized their mobile phones and computers.

    The Roman Catholic priests are said to come from the town of Miora and the nearby town where they administer the parishes.

    Christian Vision for Belarus reports that a Greek Catholic priest was detained in Polotsk.

    The Belarusian authorities harshly suppress any public criticism of the regime run by Aleksander Lukashenko and his support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. Even placing the flag of Ukraine on Facebook profiles is an act to be prosecuted.

    Courts have also repeatedly sentenced clergymen of various denominations.

    In July 2022, a Catholic priest was jailed for 15 days for “violating the rules of organizing mass events.”

    It should be recalled that last year, at least 24 clergymen of various denominations were affected by repression in Belarus. Almost half of them are Catholic priests.

    About a million Catholics make up 10% of the population of Belarus. Due to massive state repression, the country’s bishops are afraid to criticize human rights violations.

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