Photo via newlife.by

Pastor of New Life church is threatened with new fines

On Monday March 24, 2008 at 10am the Pastor Slava Goncharenko was summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office of Moscow district. The Senior Prosecutor’s assistant Christina Skurchinskaya talked to Slava Goncharenko, reports New Life church press-center. She offered the Pastor to sign an administrative violation record accusing Slava Goncharenko in disobedience to the Prosecutor’s Office of Moscow district of Minsk order, which obligated the Pastor to allow Electric Energy Supervision Department inspectors into the church’s building.

By way of explanation to the composed record Slava Goncharenko wrote that exactly Electric Energy Supervision Department unplugged electricity in the New Life church’s building in July 2005, therefore desire of the Department officials to check what they deactivated themselves was incomprehensible. The Pastor also wrote that he did not consider himself guilty as the Ministry of emergencies, the Electric Energy Supervision Department and the Minsk Water-channel representatives’ visits were initiated by the Minsk city Executive Committee for the purpose of organizing unlawful pressure on the church. Slava Goncharenko clarified in written that currently the church led civil disobedience action as a result of the Supreme Economic Court refusal to defend the community and termless suspension the New Life case investigation a year ago which was under their jurisdiction.

The record will be passed to court for further investigation. This article maximum fine is 326 USD.

On that day, March 24, Slava Goncharenko visited the Prosecutor’s office of Minsk. The Prosecutor of Laws and lawfulness of jurisdiction acts compliance Supervision Department Uriy Karpitski informed the Pastor that he was accused of persistent violation expressed in signatures collection for religious legislation modification of the Republic of Belarus. The lawyer Sergei Lukanin was refused to attend this meeting.

The meeting lasted for about two hours and in its course Uriy Karpitski asked Slava Goncharenko multiple questions related to the New Life church’s building and to the Pastor personally.

In accordance to the record Slava Goncharenko is threatened with a fine from 326 USD to 815 USD.

We remind that on March 21 the Coordinator of the Campaign «Protecting the rights of freedom of conscience» Sergei Lukanin was brought to similar accusation.

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[03/27/2008]

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