MINSK, Belarus (OSV News) — Father Henrykh Akalatovich, pastor of the Catholic parish in Valožyn, was sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony in Belarus Dec. 30 in a move that highlights the growing persecution of Catholics in the Russia-aligned country.
The priest, who had been on trial since Nov. 25 in a closed session by the Minsk Regional Court, pleaded not guilty but was convicted for “treason against the state,” according to Belsat, an independent news channel airing from Poland. Due to the secrecy of the hearing, the details of the charges against the priest were not publicly announced.
Father Akalatovich, who faced a sentence of seven to 15 years in the gulag, according to local law, is the latest and one of the most visible examples of worsening persecution of the church in Belarus.
Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus, in 2022. Image credit: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
