BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

30/07/2008

Belarus: Christian fined for organising Bible study

A Belarusian Christian has been fined the equivalent of nine months minimum wage salary for attempting to organise an informal Bible study and discussion group.

On 9 June, the Grodno Regional Court declared Valentin Borovik guilty of violating Article 14 of the Belarusian Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religion (LFCR) and Article 9.9 of the Administrative Violations Code and fined him 315,000 rubles (approximately ?75).

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said: "This case exemplifies the difficulties faced by Christians in Belarus. Mr Borovik wanted nothing more than to meet together with fellow believers to study and discuss his faith, a right that most of us in western Europe take for granted.

"It is a travesty that these types of violations are still taking place in Europe. The Belarusian government must be pushed to respect its own laws and international commitments and to allow Belarusians to meet together and practise their faith freely."

Source:

http://www.inspiremagazine.org.uk/news.aspx?action=view&id=2669

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