Disobedient Protestants of New Life Church to stand trial
6- 22.09.2009, 9:43
On October 7, the Economic Court of Minsk will hear the claim of the public utilities of the Maskouski district of Minsk to New Life Church of the Religious Association of Christian Full Gospel churches in Belarus.
Judge Alla Miroshnik took this decision following the results of the preliminary court session on September 21, BelaPAN informs.
On September 9, the church community received a letter from the Economic Court of Minsk saying the court accepted the claim of the public utilities of the Maskouski district demanding to evade the church from the building on the address 72, Kavalyova Street.
An attorney for the plaintiff said at the session that Lyudmila Bulyha, the head of the personnel and legal department of the Maskouski district public utility, confirmed the claim on evading the community from the building on the address 72, Kavalyova Street on the grounds of the documents presented.
The attorney for the defence, church lawyer Syarhei Lukanin, explained the church members didn’t agree with the claim on a number of grounds. According to him, the community didn’t receive compensation from the authorities for the church building which would be enough to construct a new one. The authorities also ignored the statements of more than 3000 dwellers of Sukharava village who asked that the church should not be removed. Besides, the attorney said, evading the church members from the building in Kavalypva Street wouldn’t allow them to gather for services, because administration of all Minsk districts had refused the church of premises rental.
In this respect, the community addressed the special representative for infringements of the rights of believers in the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva (Switzerland on September 9, Lukanin suggested that the judge should delay the session until the international human rights considers the situation.
Lukanin told in an interview to BelaPAN that this trial was the 27th since 2005. He expressed a hope the church’s complaint would be considered in the Human Rights Committee by October 7.
On August 22, the city authorities hand in the acceptance report of the church building to the community representatives, but the church members refused to sign it. They organized all-day praying in the church since August 24.
