Belarus cracks down on clergy who supported protests of its authoritarian leader

The Rev. Viachaslau Barok was a familiar face in Rasony, a town in northern Belarus near the Russian border, overseeing construction of its Roman Catholic church and celebrating Mass daily for two decades.

He got into trouble in December 2020, the height of anti-government demonstrations, when he posted a caricature of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko and another official on social media. He spent 10 days in jail.

When security services raided his church in July 2021, however, he knew it was time to leave the country.

Barok is among dozens of clergy — Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant — who have been jailed, silenced or forced into exile for protesting the 2020 election that gave Lukashenko a sixth term. That disputed vote triggered mass demonstrations, beatings of protesters and a crackdown on dissent — tensions that increased in 2022, when Belarus ally Russia invaded Ukraine.

The pro-Kremlin Lukashenko, who lashed out against any church officials siding with the protesters, last month signed into law a measure requiring all religious organizations in the country of 9.5 million to reregister with authorities or face being outlawed if their loyalty to the state is in doubt.

Anastasiia Kruope, a Human Rights Watch researcher for Europe and Central Asia, said the law gives authorities “more tools and possibilities for repressions.”

In the last three years, at least 74 clergy have been arrested, fined or deported, according to the Viasna human rights center, even before the new law took effect.

“It’s clear that the number of priests subject to repression will grow, (as the government tries) to force the church’s loyalty,” Barok told The Associated Press. “The authorities want to demonstrate to the Vatican their