Fresh 15-day sentence for Orthodox priest

September 27, BPN. A court in Belarus sentenced jailed Orthodox priest Uładzisłaŭ Bahamolnikaŭ to 15 more days behind bars, Chryścijanskaja Vizija reported on September 27.

Police arrested Bahamolnikaŭ on August 31 after breaking into his Minsk apartment. On September 1, a judge sentenced him to 14 days in jail.

As his term expired, police charged him with another offence instead of letting him go, and locked him up for 15 days.

Chryścijanskaja Vizija learned that the day after the second trial, a judge sentenced Bahamolnikaŭ to 15 more days.

This way, the priest will stay in jail until at least October 14, the group said. It does not know what particular charges were brought against him.

Bahamolnikaŭ was one of the priests who served the funeral mass for opposition activist Raman Bandarenka, who died while in police custody after being beaten by unknown men in 2020. The priest also went on a hunger strike in support of blogger Ihar Losik, imprisoned on politically-motivated charges.

Bahamolnikaŭ has a degree in theology and serves at the parish of the Minsk Epiphany Church, currently under construction. He is also in charge of a historical museum of the Belarusian Orthodox Church and is a member of the Minsk Diocesan Court.

Chryścijanskaja Vizija is a Christian group coordinating believers’ activities amid the political crackdown in Belarus.