A criminal case according to the article 193.1 has been started in Shchuchynski district against a creator of a shelter for the homeless.
Local police has started a criminal case against the resident of Aliaksandrauka settlement, a Catholic believer Aliaksej Shchadrou, who has created a shelter for the homeless in the village, the press-service of BChD party reports.
He is being accused of violating the article 193.1 of the Criminal Code, precisely of "organizing the activities. . . of a non-registered religious organization and provided the conditions for its functioning without obtaining registration in due order". Aliaksej Shchadrou is accused of "uniting into a single stable group coreligionists from the locals and homeless people”, has equipped a room “for serving a religious cult and satisfying other religious needs". Based on this, they want to hold the believer responsible.
Moreover, Shchuchyn TV and radio made reports accusing Shchadrou and the people living in the shelter of being sectarians.
According to Aliaksej Shchadrou, he did not create any religious organization, but only shelter for the homeless, whom the state does not want to notice, and did charity out of mercy. He also denies the accusations of organizing divine service since he is not a priest. Aliaksej notes that he just prays with those, who stay in the shelter.
Due to that BChD addresses Belarusian and international community, politicians and human rights activists calling to support the believer, who is being persecuted for his charity, and demand the cessation of the criminal case, The article 193.1, according to which he is being prosecuted, is of a clear political nature, and the persecution itself is a challenge to Belarusian society.
We would remind that human rights activists repeatedly spoke against the political article 193.1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus and demanded its abandonment.
