Protestant Priest Jaroslaw Lukasik Deported from Belarus
https://spring96.org./en/news/17242
2007
2007-06-08T10:00:00+0300
2007-06-08T10:00:00+0300
1970-01-01T03:00:00+0300
en
The Human Rights Center “Viasna”
The Human Rights Center “Viasna”
The Human Rights Center “Viasna”
The Human Rights Center “Viasna”
Source: www.charter97.org
In the evening of 6 June the Protestant minister, Polish citizen Jaroslaw Lukasik was deported from Belarus. He took the train Minsk-Warsaw 8.40 p.m. More than 100 persons came to the railway station to see him off on the train. Among those present were Protestant pastors, believers and friends of J. Lukasik. When the train departed, people sang the Mighty God hymn and chanted Long live Belarus!In an interview to BelaPAN Jaroslaw Lukasik noted that over the 14 years of service in Belarus he and his John the Baptist Pentecostal Church had ‘very kind relations with many pastors and bishops of different Protestant churches’. ‘I am proud of being these people’s friend and feel their huge support in these last difficult days. Every day I get emails and sms. Dozens of believers and pastors called me, expressed solidarity by collecting signatures under an address to the authorities. A prayer on 3 June in Minsk of about 5,000 believers from all over Belarus was a powerful demonstration of support, too,’ J. Lukasik said.
On 30 May the head of Tsentralny police department of Minsk Vital Siniakou fined Lukasik about 14 US dollars and announced that he would be deported and banned entry to Belarus for 5 years. On 27 May Lukasik was detained after a prayer service held in a private house of one of Protestant pastors.
