BELARUSSIAN AUTHORITIES ATTEMPT TO ACCUSE PRIEST OF ROCOR (L) OF "ILLEGAL RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY"
(Portal-Credo.Ru - Vertograd :Belarus)
A new wave of persecutions on ROCOR (L) believers has begun in Belarus. On 17 May into the house of the priest Leonid Plyats of ROCOR (L) in the village of Zabolotye, Smolevichi region of the Minsk territory, members of the commission of the State Committee of Nationalites and Religions of Belarus sent members from the Smolevich district executive committee in the person of its representative of the Ideological Division of the committee, the chairman and the secretary of local village Soviet - M.V. Vul, as well as another member of the committee N.K. Najden. The state fire inspector also came.
During the examination of Fr Leonid, on the grounds of "illegal-underground religious activity" the commission attempted to organize the inspection of house under the pretext of a fire inspection. Father Leonid deflected this request. Later, as a result of conversation, it was explained that the task of the commission was to find and to prove the presence in the house of certain special "accommodations for conducting underground illegal liturgical prayer". With the departure from the city of Smolevichi, the representative of ideological division promised that soon, after gathering necessary orders, the fire inspector would return to look around house.
In the evening of the same day, the local police inspector, I.V Lushchik, arrived at the home of the priest ROCOR(L), who, on the basis of the order from the State Committee, again conducted interrogation of Fr. Leonid and in fact entered denunciations in the composed protocol.
On May 23, again without warning, to the Father Leonid came unexpectedly an already intensive police detail in the composition of Senior Lieutenant A.N. Martysyuk and Lieutenant I.V. Lushchik. Since there was no owner present, military personnel for more than an hour questioned the wife of the priest and a believing woman who was a guest. After that, as the priest arrived, the examination of Fr Leonid, the same discussion of "illegal religious activity" continued. From the actions and words of the police it became clear, that from somewhere "much, much higher" a directive was issued that, at any price, the presence of "underground religious sect" was to be proven and to punishment for the ROCOR(L) priest was to be obtained.
At present the authorities of Belarus are stiffening, in practice, punishment for so-called "illegal religious activity": in this case, if it is possible to prove that Fr Leonid actually carries out catacomb divine services, in accordance with article 167.1 of Belarussian law, he is threatened with a penalty of $3500 US (with the average monthly wage being monthly wage $100 - $150 US) or 15 days in jail.
On May 24, the priest of ROCOR(L) and the two believing tenants obtained warrants to appear at the regional offices of the chief of the police and his deputy. After examination over the same "illegal religious activity", the chief of the regional office, V. Nikolayenka and his deputy for Strochinsky, military officers composed protocols and officially warned Father Leonid, that in the case of conducting Catacomb divine services, that article 167.1 indicated will be applied.