25/05/2024
LETTER TO CONSULATE VITEBSK:
Dear Excellency van Oosterhout,
From 15 to 20 April, we held a meeting of delegates from the conferences of higher religious superiors in Europe (www.UCESM.net).
Belarus has no conference, so there would be no representation, if I had not personally invited Fr Anjei Yukhnevich to experience for once how religious in Europe deal with each other and certain problems. He enjoyed being with 60 other religious and discussing and celebrating spiritual matters. There was not an unkind word about Belarus.
Last week we received the news that he, like a fellow brother, has been arrested.
We feel very affected by this and would like to know on what grounds he was arrested and whether there is any possibility of their release from prison.
Awaiting your reply, I remain most cordial,
Sr Marjolein Bruinen OP-
Dear Marjolein Bruinen,
Many thanks for your message. Unfortunately, it is indeed true that on 8 May last, Father Andrzej Yukhnevich was arrested together with a colleague in the Vitebsk region. They were sentenced on 10 May to 15 and 10 days of administrative detention, respectively. It is not entirely clear what exactly they have been charged with, but they are said to be suspected of sabotage or "extremism". Such allegations are used by the Belarusian authorities for politically motivated repression. Unfortunately, we are limited in what we can do concretely for individual political prisoners. The Belarusian authorities do not allow us to visit Belarusian political prisoners, let alone the possibility of having them released directly from prison. We are following the case of Yukhnevich and Lemech as part of our wider commitment to ending political repression in Belarus. One way we do this is by drawing international attention to the fate of political prisoners and by pressuring the Belarusian authorities to comply with its international human rights obligations.
Kind regards,
René Kersten
Temporary Chargé d'Affaires
Embassy Office of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Minsk
Dear Mr Kersten,
Thank you very much for your quick response.
I feared, that the arrest, at least of P. Jukhnevich, has to do with his participation - at my invitation - in our general meeting of European religious leaders.
Very nice that you are committed to ending political repression in Belarus.
Gladly we, as spiritual leaders in almost all countries of Europe - including in the East - would like to make our contribution to the voice on the fate of political/religious prisoners. Would it be an idea, for example, to draw the attention of Amnesty International, whose many actions we support, to the fate of these two priests?
Thank you in advance for your response and good luck in your vital work!
Sister Marjolein
Dear Sister Bruinen,
Thank you for your clarification. At the moment, it is still difficult to say exactly what Father Yukhnevich was arrested for. Unfortunately, it emerged yesterday that his colleague, Fr Lemech, has still not been released after his 10 days of administrative detention have expired. This could indicate that the administrative detention is a prelude to a new, possibly more serious criminal charge. Again, it is still somewhat speculative at this point. The arrest of Fathers Yukhnevich and Lemekh could come from several angles. The regime has for several years been engaged in a campaign of repression in which the security services regard any form of independence from the state as suspicious, including in particular expressions indicating support for the opposition. Repression is not limited to this, however, and also expresses itself specifically in the religious sphere, for example, where still this year the authorities passed new laws with still stricter guidelines on what religious organisations and their representatives can (and especially cannot) do. Of course, from your role, you can alert Amnesty International to the situation here and that of Father Yukhnevich and his colleagues in particular. Minister Hanke Bruin Slots also cares about the fate of political prisoners. See below a reference to her open letter of yesterday, addressed to Nobel Prize winner Ales Bialatski and all other Belarusians in political custody.
Hanke Bruins Slot on LinkedIn:
Heartfelt greetings,
René Kersten
