Chief of Belarusian Catholic church barred from entering country

Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Minsk and Mahilioŭ, has not been allowed to enter the country today despite holding a Belarus citizenship, catholic.by said.

Archbishop Kondrusiewicz was returning from an abroad trip. However, the Catholic priest was stopped by border guards, who refused to provide any reasons.

Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz has no other citizenship, except for the Belarusian one, the press secretary of the Catholic Church in Belarus Yury Sanko told TUT.BY.

Kondrusiewicz has repeatedly called on the authorities to refrain from using violence against peaceful protesters.

On August 26, riot police blocked several dozens of believers inside the Church of Saints Simon and Helena in Minsk after the authorities dispersed a protest on Independence Square.

Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz reacted to the news by saying that the “inadequate and illegal” actions of law enforcement officers had to be thoroughly investigated.