Western diplomats declare solidarity with clergy facing reprisals in Belarus
December 23, Pozirk. Western diplomats accredited in Minsk have expressed solidarity with Belarusian clergy and believers who face politically-motivated persecution as Baptist preacher Mikoła Chiło went on trial two days before Christmas.
Authorities accuse Chiło, a staff member with the European Union’s delegation to Belarus, of calling for sanctions and inciting hatred, charges routinely used in Belarus to persecute regime critics.
“Everyone deserves the right to express their opinions without fear. We call for justice and freedom for all,” says the statement posted by the British embassy on Facebook.
Diplomats from the United States and several European Union countries, including Austria, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden, aligned with the statement.
Belarusian authorities have persecuted 86 Christian priests, 30 Protestant ministers among them, in the four years since the 2020 political crisis, Chryścijanskaja Vizija reported last month.
EU calls for release of jailed Belarusian preacher employed by EU delegation
December 19, Pozirk. The European External Action Service called for the release of Mikoła Chiło, a local staff member with the EU delegation to Belarus and a Baptist preacher, POLITICO reported. “We urge the Belarusian authorities to release him immediately …