Listeners:
Top listeners:
-
play_arrow
Belarus Bans Christian Group In Broader Crackdown
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MINSK/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Authorities in autocratically-ruled Belarus have banned an organization that united leaders of several denominations to highlight reported persecution of devoted Christians in the country, sources confirmed Friday.
Worthy News established that “Christian Vision for Belarus,” registered in neighbouring Lithuania and active since 2020, was banned amid a broader crackdown on Christian groups.
Christians told Worthy News that the troubles began last month on April 1 when the “Belarusian KGB secret police ruled that Christian Vision for Belarus was ‘extremist.”
Soon after, it banned the organization’s website and social media platforms, according to sources familiar with the situation.
“In the process, the KGB specifically identified three of the leaders – Natallia Vasilevich, Natallia Harkovich and Dzmitry Korneyenko,” said advocacy group Voice of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC). The three Orthodox Christians reportedly reside outside of Belarus, apparently to escape prosecution.
“In addition, the government’s Interior Ministry department added the organization’s name to its “banned list” on April 8,” VOMC added.
The day after the official listing, police in the town of Orsha visited Viktor Korneyenko, the father of Dzmitry Korneyenko, Worthy News learned.
DNA SAMPLE
“Confused about what was happening, Viktor did not ask any questions when a DNA sample was demanded of him. On April 10, the police then visited Dzmitry’s mother-in-law in the city of Vitebsk. Later, Dzmitry’s brother, who was contacted on April 23, also received an order to provide a DNA sample. When the brother asked the police why, he was told that the results would make it easier for them to hunt Dzmitry,” VOMC explained.
Christian Vision for Belarus is not the only organization that’s been identified as “extremist.”
Other groups include The Democratic Media Institute, which supports independent media in the region, and the independent Catholic news website Katolik. life, Christians told Worthy News.
Additionally, for “many years, The New Life Full Gospel Church in Minsk experienced repeated harassment from governing officials before being officially closed and receiving the same “extremist” label,” VOMC said.
Worthy News has previously reported on the church’s plight.
VOMC said it had urged prayers for “those who are seeking to promote justice and truth in Belarus” and for the authorities.
The reported banning of a major Christian group in Belarus was believed to add to pressure on Alexander Lukashenko, often referred to by Western officials as “Europe’s last dictator.”
FOREIGN OVSERVERS
He has repeatedly been re-elected as leader in contests that opposition candidates and foreign observers have labelled as “unfair and undemocratic.”
A former state farm director, Lukashenko was first elected president in 1994, following his energetic performance as chairman of the parliamentary anti-corruption committee.
He has managed a balancing act between Russia, his closest economic and political partner, and overtures to the West, while maintaining authoritarian rule at home.
The European Union, Britain, and the United States have imposed sanctions against Belarus because of “political oppression.”
Further sanctions were imposed in 2022 following the country’s role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In January this year, Lukashenko won a seventh consecutive presidential term.
The opposition ignored the vote as its leaders and activists are either jailed or exiled, and no dissent is tolerated inside Belarus, a former Soviet nation maintaining close ties with Russia.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Investigations continued Friday after a suspected Islamist gunman opened fire in a classroom at Old Dominion University in the U.S. state of Virginia on Thursday, killing a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) instructor and wounding two others before he was subdued by students and died, officials said.
All six crew members aboard a U.S. refueling aircraft have died after the plane crashed over western Iraq, the U.S. military confirmed Friday, as fighting between the United States, Israel, and Iran continued to intensify.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that Iran’s newly installed supreme leader is likely wounded, disfigured, and hiding underground as the Islamic Republic reels from the opening blows of the war with the United States and Israel.
Bible sales in Britain have surged to their highest levels since records began, reflecting a growing spiritual interest across the nation—particularly among younger generations.
A damaged Russian gas tanker is drifting unmanned through the Mediterranean Sea, prompting Malta to prepare emergency measures while tensions linked to the war in Ukraine spill into Europe’s energy and security landscape.
Iran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Gulf countries Thursday, the 13th day of the United States-Israel war against Tehran, with strikes reported in Bahrain and other states, sending oil prices sharply higher and raising concerns among foreign workers, including Christians.
Nearly 25,000 Christians, many of them impoverished sanitation workers and day laborers, face possible eviction from their homes in Pakistan’s capital after authorities ordered them to vacate two settlements within days, Christians familiar with the situation confirmed Thursday.
WHO WE ARE
The Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs encapsulate the beauty, wisdom, and eternal truths found in the Bible, creating an immersive experience that resonates with believers and seekers alike.
CONTACT
- +1 908 280-4246
- Essex County, USA
- info@tnjrfm.com