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Fine for Belarusian Christians for collecting signatures

Pavel Severinets, the third of the initiators of the Campaign «Protecting the rights of freedom of conscience» who signed the appeal to the high state authorities was articled by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Minsk’s Central district, reports New Life church press-center.

The charge is similar to the ones brought to Slava Goncharenko and Sergey Lukanin: breach of the 9.10th article of the Administrative Code (Violation of legislation on … implementation of the right of legislative initiative of citizens). That is illegal collecting signatures for changing religious legislation.

But in contrast to Slava Goncharenko and Sergey Lukanin who were invited to the Prosecutor’s Office in a written form, Pavel Severinets was arrested in the center of the city and brought there by force. As other participants of the action he is facing a big fine.

To remind, on February, 28 the collective Appeal for changing religious legislation signed by more than 50 000 Belarusian citizens was sent to the Administration of the President of Belarus.

On February, 26 and 27 the Appeal was lodged to the Constitutional Court and to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly.

The authors of the Appeal suggest imposing norms allowing believers’ groups to have their activity without registration as religious communities and also restitution of the real estate of the religious organizations. It is also suggested to eliminate norms that require coordination of church services with local authorities, and norms that limit the territory of the religious organization’s activity, and norms that prohibit foreign citizens and stateless people to be founders and leaders of religious communities.

In the Appeal it is proposed to create a working group of the officials and believers to frame the proper changes and to declare a moratorium on some articles of a number of statutory acts.

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[04/09/2008]

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