{"id":120202,"date":"2024-12-30T18:38:17","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T15:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/120202\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","slug":"roman-catholic-priest-sentenced-to-11-years-in-prison-for-treason","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/120202\/","title":{"rendered":"Roman Catholic priest sentenced to 11 years on treason charges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (katolik.life)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

December 30, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> The Minsk Regional Court has sentenced Catholic priest Hienrych Aka\u0142atovi\u010d to 11 years in prison, the katolik.life<\/em> news website reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The parish priest from Va\u0142o\u017eyn was found guilty of high treason. He pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judge U\u0142adzimir Are\u0161ka tired Hienrych Aka\u0142atovi\u010d behind closed doors. No representatives of the episcopate or the Vatican embassy were present at the trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 64-year-old priest has spent more than a year in the Committee for State Security (KGB) detention center after his arrest, katolik.life<\/em> said. “The trial lasted over a month. During all this time, no information about the priest’s case was available. What exactly he is accused of remains unknown to this day.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier, media reported that the priest was accused of leaking sensitive information to unnamed people. Investigators assessed the damage at about 1 million rubels (more than $300,000).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For the first time since the communist regime in Belarus, a Catholic priest was tried under a political Criminal Code article,” the site said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human rights activists recognized Aka\u0142atovi\u010d as a political prisoner. He had had a heart attack and has cancer, the activists said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reprisals against clerics and believers have continued since 2020. According to the Chry\u015bcijanskaja Vizija human rights group, 86 Christian priests were persecuted in Belarus between September 1, 2020 and November 30, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Western diplomats declare solidarity with clergy facing reprisals in Belarus<\/h3>\n
December 23, Pozirk. Western diplomats accredited in Minsk have expressed solidarity with Belarusian clergy and believers who face politically-motivated persecution as Baptist preacher Miko\u0142a Chi\u0142o went on trial two days before Christmas. Authorities accuse Chi\u0142o, a staff member with the …<\/div>\n \n