Christian World | A Belarus court has sentenced Catholic priest Anatol Parakhnevich, 66, to three years in prison for insulting officials and extremism, Katolik.life reports

ACW | November 4, 2026 — A district court in Vileyka, Belarus, has sentenced Anatol Parakhnevich, a 66-year-old Catholic priest, to three years in prison and a heavy fine, the independent Catholic portal Katolik.life reported on Tuesday.

The verdict was handed down in October after closed hearings, and the exact date was never announced, Katolik.life said. Even the archdiocese's leadership does not know the precise charges, the portal said.

Parakhnevich was first accused of "treason against the state," but the court instead convicted him of "insulting the authorities and extremism," according to Katolik.life. He denies wrongdoing, considers the verdict unjust and has filed an appeal, the portal said.

The priest, who leads a Catholic parish in the Vileyka district of the Minsk region, has been in custody since mid-March 2026. Members of his parish had written a joint appeal for his release, Katolik.life reported.

The fine amounts to about 680 euros, and Belarusian rights groups count Parakhnevich as a political prisoner, the Austrian Catholic news agency Kathpress reported. No response from the Belarusian authorities appeared in published reports.

Background: Two Catholic friars were sentenced in Belarus in 2024 and 2025 to 11 and 13 years in a labor camp, and were pardoned in November 2025, weeks after Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti met President Alexander Lukashenko, Kathpress said. Both had to leave the country. In neighboring Russia, courts recently fined a Baptist church and three pastors; read ACW's report.

Why it matters: Seventeen Roman Catholic priests had to stop working in Belarus this year after their work permits were not renewed, and authorities ordered four of the country's 16 Greek Catholic parishes dissolved, Kathpress reported, citing the Belarusian group Christian Vision. Neither church has commented publicly, reportedly for fear of further repression.

ACW will continue to follow this story.

Sources: Katolik.life — Sentence handed down to Catholic priest in Belarus; Kathpress — Catholic priest in Belarus sentenced to three years in prison

Photo: Katolik.life