Trial over New Life Church Case Restarts

The Board of the Supreme Economic Court satisfied the complaint of its head about canceling the verdict of October 27, 2005, which legitimized the decision of Minsk municipality to stop the right of the Church to use the plot of land and to compulsory buy out the church building. On November 27 the church leadership received a written ruling of the court Board to cancel that decision and send the case for reconsideration.

According to the law, the new hearing of the case should be appointed before December 4. The issue will be considered by the Supreme Economic Court.

The believers continue to fight for their right to gather in their own building. To protest against the actions of the authorities who wanted to deprive the believers of the right to use their own building and their plot of land, the believers went on a hunger-strike which lasted for 23 days. The hunger-strike became the biggest in history of Belarus and was stopped when the Supreme Economic Court had cancelled all its previous decisions on the case.

“the letter which we received yesterday is one more step to our victory”, -- says lawyer Siarhei Lukanin.