{"id":93096,"date":"2024-06-28T12:28:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T09:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"washington-concerned-over-religious-freedom-restrictions-in-belarus","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington concerned over religious freedom restrictions in Belarus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n \"\"\n
\n \n
\n (US Embassy Minsk)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

June 28, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Last year’s amendments to the Belarusian religion law expanded the grounds for closing religious communities and organizations, says the 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom by the United States Department of State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities can prohibit any religious activities of unregistered groups and impose restrictions on registered organizations, it noted in a reference to the law that entered into force in early January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amendments also ban foreigners as well as regime critics branded extremists in Belarus from running religious groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church enjoys privileges not granted to other religions, while officials continue politically-motivated persecution of priests and keep closing down religious organizations they deem undesirable, the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet even Orthodox priests may face criminal persecution if they engage in politics, display opposition symbols or pray for the victory of Ukraine, it noted, citing an incident in December, when officials warned Minsk clergy against engaging in political activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report cites specific instances of persecution, including criminal cases against U\u0142adzisla\u016d Bie\u0142adzied, a religious education teacher at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Minsk, and Hienrych Aka\u0142atovi\u010d of Saint Joseph Church in Va\u0142o\u017eyn and arrests of Orthodox priest Dzijanisi Karasciale\u016d for a prayer for Ukraine, New Earth Baptist church elder Andrej Mamojka and his spouse Vera, evangelical Christian pastor Alaksandar Zaretski, Via\u010das\u0142a\u016d Adamovi\u010d of the Roman Catholic parish of the Holy Virgin Mary in Ido\u0142ta, Greek Catholic priest Alaksandar \u0160a\u016dco\u016d in Polack, Andrej Kulik of the Roman Catholic parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish in Miory and New Life Church pastor Via\u010das\u0142a\u016d Han\u010darenka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Antisemitic comments on social media have been on the rise since the start of Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023, the report said. Antisemitism was also recorded in references to the Jewish identity of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also read: Reprisals: police arrest Baptist preacher<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

June 28, Pozirk. Last year’s amendments to the Belarusian religion law expanded the grounds for closing religious communities and organizations, says the 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom by the United States Department of State. Authorities can prohibit any religious activities of unregistered groups and impose restrictions on registered organizations, it noted in a reference […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":93033,"template":"","rubric":[15],"class_list":["post-93096","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-society"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWashington concerned over religious freedom restrictions in Belarus | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"June 28, Pozirk. Last year's amendments to the Belarusian religion law expanded the grounds for closing religious communities and organizations, says the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Washington concerned over religious freedom restrictions in Belarus | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"June 28, Pozirk. Last year's amendments to the Belarusian religion law expanded the grounds for closing religious communities and organizations, says the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/religia-raport-by.usembassy.gov-1128.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1128\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"752\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/\"},\"headline\":\"Washington concerned over religious freedom restrictions in Belarus\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-28T09:28:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/\"},\"wordCount\":330,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/religia-raport-by.usembassy.gov-1128.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/\",\"name\":\"Washington concerned over religious freedom restrictions in Belarus | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/religia-raport-by.usembassy.gov-1128.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-28T09:28:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\",\"description\":\"June 28, Pozirk. Last year's amendments to the Belarusian religion law expanded the grounds for closing religious communities and organizations, says the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/religia-raport-by.usembassy.gov-1128.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/religia-raport-by.usembassy.gov-1128.jpg\",\"width\":1128,\"height\":752},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Washington concerned over religious freedom restrictions in Belarus\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Washington concerned over religious freedom restrictions in Belarus | Pozirk","description":"June 28, Pozirk. Last year's amendments to the Belarusian religion law expanded the grounds for closing religious communities and organizations, says the","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Washington concerned over religious freedom restrictions in Belarus | Pozirk","og_description":"June 28, Pozirk. Last year's amendments to the Belarusian religion law expanded the grounds for closing religious communities and organizations, says the","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1128,"height":752,"url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/religia-raport-by.usembassy.gov-1128.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/"},"headline":"Washington concerned over religious freedom restrictions in Belarus","datePublished":"2024-06-28T09:28:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/"},"wordCount":330,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/religia-raport-by.usembassy.gov-1128.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/","name":"Washington concerned over religious freedom restrictions in Belarus | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/religia-raport-by.usembassy.gov-1128.jpg","datePublished":"2024-06-28T09:28:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00","description":"June 28, Pozirk. Last year's amendments to the Belarusian religion law expanded the grounds for closing religious communities and organizations, says the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/religia-raport-by.usembassy.gov-1128.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/religia-raport-by.usembassy.gov-1128.jpg","width":1128,"height":752},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/93096\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Washington concerned over religious freedom restrictions in Belarus"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","name":"Pozirk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization","name":"Pozirk","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Pozirk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/93096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=93096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}