Belarus: Raids, threats, warnings for religious meetings
Religious communities in various parts of Belarus have faced visits, threats and warnings for holding meetings of worship which officials regard as illegal. On one Sunday in January, officials visited three Pentecostal services in separate villages. Pastor Vasili Raptsevich – who led worship in a church-owned house in a village…
Belarus: Praying in homeless shelter a crime
A young Catholic layman, who turned his home in a western Belarus village into a shelter for homeless people with a prayer room, is being accused of leading an unregistered religious organisation, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. Aleksei Shchedrov - who says he has helped about 100 local people…
Belarus: Online petition launched for religious freedom
An online petition was launched to repeal the amendment of Belarus criminal code, that allots two years of imprisonment for religious activity without registration, reports Christian megaportal InVictory.org. The author of the petition is Alexey Shein, co-chair of the Belarus Christian Democracy party. The goal is to collect 5,000 signatures.…
Balkans: Corruption barrier to EU membership
A new European Commission funded report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says that an average of one person in six has to pay bribes to access services in the Western Balkans and that the problem, despite the best efforts of both the EU and western Balkan…
