#BELARUS: Catholic priest arrested – by KGB?

Masked security officers arrested 65-year-old Catholic priest Anatol Parakhnevich in Alkovichi, Minsk Region on 16 March. They have held him since, including over Easter, possibly in Minsk's KGB Investigation Prison. "We know he was detained .. but we don't know where he is being held or what any accusations against him might be," says Catholic spokesperson Fr Yuri Yasevich. Told that Forum 18 was unable to find out why Fr Parakhnevich was arrested, religious affairs official Andrei Aryayev responded: "I don't have any information either." Minsk Region Police did not respond.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3039

#BELARUS: Supreme Court rejects last-ditch challenge to Greek Catholic parish liquidation

Brest Regional Court ended the legal existence of all three previously-registered Greek Catholic parishes in Brest Region. On 9 April, the Supreme Court in Minsk rejected the appeal by the Parish of the Brother Apostles Saints Peter and Andrew in the city of Brest against its enforced liquidation. Supreme Court press secretary Yuliya Lyaskova refused to answer questions. Pavel Bobruk of Brest Regional Executive Committee refused to say why it had sent suits to court to liquidate all three parishes, and where Greek Catholics should now go to pray.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3040

#KAZAKHSTAN: Husband jailed in Xinjiang, wife to be jailed from 2027

When Guldaria Sherizat's youngest daughter turns 14 in 2027, her 5-year jail term is set to begin. She was among 19 Kazakhs originally from China's Xinjiang Province convicted in Taldykorgan on 13 April for "inciting discord" against Chinese people for a November 2025 demonstration. Sherizat was protesting against her husband's jailing in Xinjiang for his protests against his nephew's jailing in Xinjiang for praying. All 19 will appeal. "None of them uttered a single word against the Chinese people," says lawyer Shinkuat Baizhanov. "They only criticised the actions of the Chinese authorities."

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3041

#RUSSIA: Anti-war Orthodox journalist's 8-year jail term in absentia

On 24 March, a Moscow court handed exiled Orthodox journalist Kseniya Luchenko an 8-year jail term in absentia for an online post condemning a Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian children's hospital. She has lodged an appeal. If she returns to Russia, or visits countries with extradition agreements, she could be jailed. Luchenko is already on Russia's Federal Wanted List, "List of Terrorists and Extremists", and register of "foreign agents". Anti-war Moscow Buddhist Ilya Vasilyev is expecting a verdict shortly in his second trial.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3042

#RUSSIA: Why did "intelligence service" sponsor attacks on French places of worship?

A Serbian court convicted three Serbian nationals in December 2025 of participating in attacks to desecrate 3 Paris synagogues in May 2025 and 9 Paris area mosques in September 2025. "Every time an event like this happens, worshippers wonder if they really are safe when they come to pray," a mosque employee said. The verdicts – seen by Forum 18 – say "structures of the intelligence service of the Russian Federation" gave the group instructions and money. These were the first known Russian-instigated attacks on places of worship in Europe outside Ukraine.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3043

#RUSSIA: Anti-war Moscow Buddhist leader convicted again in re-trial

A Moscow court jailed Buddhist leader Ilya Vasilyev for 6 years and banned him from "administering websites". In custody since June 2024, the 52-year-old was convicted in a re-trial for an anti-war social media post. "Some people want to pressure Buddhists to fight on the side of one leader or another," he told the court. "But there are no soldiers' belt buckles with the inscription 'Buddha is with us'." Moscow City Prosecutor's Office did not respond on why prosecutors requested a custodial sentence and how Vasilyev could be considered dangerous.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3044

#BELARUS: Regime official denies permission for 3 more Catholic priests to remain

Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs Aleksandr Rumak denied permission to Vitebsk Catholic Diocese for three Polish Catholic priests to continue service. Fr Zenon Szcząchor has been serving in Belarus since 1990. Rumak unilaterally decides without giving reasons whether registered religious organisations can have foreign clergy. His deputy, Sergei Gerasimenya, refused to explain the enforced departures. Arrested in March, 65-year-old Catholic priest Fr Anatol Parakhnevich suffered a heart attack. A Minsk KGB official told Forum 18 it would respond on his condition, why he has been arrested and where he is.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3045

#KAZAKHSTAN: Anti-war Orthodox priest "kept in forced, absolute isolation from the world"

On 22 April, an Almaty court extended until 23 May pre-trial detention of 40-year-old independent Orthodox priest Yakov Vorontsov. Arrested on 13 February, he faces drugs charges which he and his supporters reject. "Relatives can't visit Fr Yakov," says lawyer Galym Nurpeisov. "This is the Investigator's decision.. He could allow it." Police investigator Daniyar Kametov refused to discuss the case. Meanwhile, Guldaria Sherizat is appealing against her jail term for demonstrating against China's jailing of her husband Alimnur Turganbay. Her jailing is postponed until February 2027, when her youngest daughter turns 14.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3046

#ARMENIA: Conscientious objector's repeat trial delayed and delayed

Molokan conscientious objector Ivan Mikhailov, refused alternative civilian service in 2018, is on criminal trial for the second time. His original 2-year jail term was eventually overturned. His current case reached court in July 2025 but hearings have been repeatedly postponed. He remains under travel restrictions. Baptist conscientious objector Davit Nazaretyan is due to complete his 2-year jail term in August. His case is at the European Court of Human Rights. The Alternative Service Commission refused one young man in January. It grants alternative civilian service only to Jehovah's Witnesses.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3047

#KYRGYZSTAN: Secret police deport Reform Adventist pastor

National Security Committee secret police deported 66-year-old Pastor Pavel Shreider on 9 April. "They put him in a car, took him to the land border and banned him from re-entering the country," an individual told Forum 18. He "would return if he could". He headed the now-banned True and Free Reform Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kyrgyzstan. He was born in Kyrgyzstan but holds a Russian passport. He is now seeking asylum elsewhere. The NSC secret police did not respond to Forum 18 on why they deported him.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3048

#KYRGYZSTAN: Secret police's latest target: Baptists

The NSC secret police has – with other state agencies – long obstructed the exercise of freedom of religion or belief, especially by communities it does not like. It has targeted Ahmadi Muslims, Falun Gong practitioners, Jehovah's Witnesses, and True and Free Reform Adventists, and now Council of Churches Baptists. Two NSC officers led a 19 April raid on their Bishkek church's Sunday worship for a second time. Major Aleksey Akulich, who led both raids, did not answer questions as to why, and whether the NSC initiated the raids and subsequent fines.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3049

#RUSSIA: Literature confiscation, destruction, fines for lack of full official name

Administrative cases against religious organisations under Administrative Code Article 5.26, Part 3 for failing to give their official full names on literature, online, and on their buildings increasingly target literature and online material. Prosecutions for failing to put up signs on buildings are declining. Following Supreme Court guidance, "law enforcement officers began to look for unmarked literature. It's easier. You can always find it. And a wave of cases [based on] unlabelled literature began", a Moscow-based lawyer notes. Courts fine communities and order literature confiscated or – on occasion – destroyed.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3050

#RUSSIA: January 2025 to April 2026 prosecutions for not showing official full name: list

Forum 18 found 52 Administrative Code Article 5.26, Part 3 prosecutions in 2025 and the first four months of 2026 for not showing registered religious organisations' official full names on literature, online, and on buildings. Of these, 34 ended with fines, 6 ended with warnings, 4 ended with acquittals, and 7 in the case being sent back or closed. The outcome of 1 is unknown. Courts ordered religious literature destroyed in 3 cases and confiscated in a further 14 cases.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3051

#RUSSIA: "Without any investigation, they're already presuming us guilty", says pastor

Prosecutions for religious organisations that fail to give their full legal name on buildings, literature or online are often part of state pressure. In Bryansk, a judge fined League of Salvation Pentecostal church for this amid inspections and searches and launching of a criminal case. The FSB raided an associated Support Centre for homeless and disabled people in 2025, but administrative charges were dismissed and a criminal case has not reached court. Holy Trinity Protestant Church in Balashikha near Moscow faced inspections from numerous state agencies and another fine.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3052

#UKRAINE: Longest prison sentence yet for conscientious objector

Prosecutions of conscientious objectors refused an alternative civilian service are increasingly frequent. A court in Mykolaiv Region jailed 42-year-old Jehovah's Witness Volodymyr Klementiev for six years. "To date, this is the longest prison sentence imposed on one of our brothers since the war in Ukraine began," Jehovah's Witnesses noted. A court in Chernihiv Region jailed 34-year-old Seventh-day Adventist Andrii Skliar for five years, one month. A court in Ivano-Frankivsk Region is due to reach a verdict on 23 June on 43-year-old Hare Krishna devotee Taras Borteychuk.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3053

#KYRGYZSTAN: Five Reform Adventists in 2-month pre-trial detention

Late on 17 June, a Bishkek court ordered five members of the now-banned True and Free Reform Seventh-day Adventist Church held in pre-trial detention for two months. The three men and two women face criminal charges of "Production and distribution of extremist materials". If convicted as a group, each faces 5 to 7 years' imprisonment. A Bishkek-based commentator warns that the case "could establish a concerning precedent". Police Investigator Adilet Asanbayev says more Church members will be investigated. "This is a real threat to at least 20 others," says one Church member.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3054

#UKRAINE: Conscientious objector's violent death at military base "being covered up"?

Recruitment Office officials seized 50-year-old Council of Churches Baptist conscientious objector Dmytro Koval, rejected his call for alternative civilian service and sent him to the Skelya Assault Regiment. Personnel tortured him for refusing to eat and he died on 21 March. When officials returned Koval's body, his face was unrecognisable. His widow could recognise him "only by his moles, the shape of his ears, facial wrinkles, and other distinctive features," Baptists noted. She demanded that police investigate his death on charges of murder and torture. Investigator Serhiy Popika refused to give information.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3055

#UKRAINE: Will delayed promised Law introduce alternative civilian service in wartime?

The Cabinet of Ministers' Roadmap for reforms, part of Ukraine's commitments under the EU accession process, set the end of June for adopting a law to introduce alternative civilian service in wartime. No draft Law has yet reached parliament. The Economy Ministry prepared a draft, but the Defence Ministry's "categorical position" – set out at a February Presidential Office meeting - is that alternative service must be within the army. Most conscientious objectors do not accept such service. "Officials are playing administrative football with the draft Law," says law professor Serhii Rabinovych.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3056

#UKRAINE: Conscientious objectors convicted, jailed, held in military units: list

With no alternative civilian service available in wartime, prosecutors have launched more than 1,000 criminal cases against conscientious objectors, with about 500 cases already sent to court. In cases known to Forum 18 (listed here), 29 conscientious objectors are in jail serving sentences, with a further 7 awaiting appeals. Courts handed down 11 probation or restricted freedom sentences. Courts are hearing at least 15 new cases, while 21 conscientious objectors are known to be in pre-trial detention. Recruitment Offices have forcibly taken hundreds of conscientious objectors to military bases, where they often face torture.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3057

#BELARUS: Polish priests "increasingly not allowed to continue their work"

Since January, the regime's chief religious affairs official Aleksandr Rumak has refused bishops' requests for at least a dozen Polish Catholic priests to be allowed to continue their religious service in the country. Most had served for several decades, one - Fr Marian Szerszeń - for 36 years. Archbishop Iosif Stanevsky of Minsk-Mogilev complains that such priests "are increasingly not allowed to continue their work". Rumak's Deputy Sergei Gerasimenya refused to explain why Rumak had refused permission for the Polish priests to continue serving. "We give no comments."

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3058