The joint statement about the brutal detention of women near the Red Church on September 11

The joint statement by the group of the Coordination Council «Christian Vision» and the Fem group about the brutal detention of women near the Red Church on September 11

September 12, 2020

Freedom of conscience — is the constitutional right of Belarusian women

On September 11, representatives of the security forces brutally attacked a group of women entering through the main entrance to the Church of St. Simeon and Helena (Red Church), located on pl. Independence. The women in the narthex were prevented from entering the church by officers of the law enforcement agencies in civilian and field uniforms, unreasonably and illegally blocking their entrance to the church.

The women in front of the entrance to the temple were detained with the use of brutal forceful methods. Some of them were pushed into a minibus parked next to the church. A large number of law enforcement officers, their deliberate presence in the temple’s vestibule, a parked minibus-paddy wagon, as well as the swiftness with which the attack on women began – all these circumstances indicate that this incident was an act of intimidation planned by the security forces.

On behalf of the “Christian Vision” working group and the Fem group, we declare: attempts to prevent parishioners from entering the church are a gross violation of the constitutional rights of freedom of conscience.

By their brutal actions in the narthex of the church, representatives of the security forces interfered in the activities of the religious community of the parish of St. Simeon and Elena and illegally tried to obstruct the legal rights of women. The brutal violence and ill-treatment used in this process, as well as the detention of women, arouse feeling of the deep outrage.

We demand:

— Immediately end the pressure being exerted on religious communities in Belarus, as well as on parishioners of religious communities;

— provide unhindered and free access to the church of St. Simeon and Elena;

— stop violence against women by security forces.

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