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Catholic priest reported to be held in KGB jail in Minsk

 

Roman Catholic priest Uladzislaw Lazar has been held in the KGB detention center in Minsk since his arrest about a month ago, the private weekly Nasha Niva reported Saturday with reference to a source in Catholic Church circles.

Apostolic Nuncio Claudio Gugerotti is in talks with Belarusian authorities over the case, the paper said, adding that members of the Catholic clergy were reluctant to disclose any details.

The Rev. Uladzislaw Lazar, a citizen of Belarus, graduated from Hrodna Seminary and then completed a theological course in Poland. He served in Maryina Horka and Rudzensk, Minsk region, before being appointed minister of the Holy Spirit Descension Parish in Barysaw, Minsk region, in April 2013.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka revealed Friday that authorities had recently arrested an officer of a Belarusian intelligence agency who the Belarusian leader said had supplied information to “foreign states” through representatives of the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church in Belarus will most likely release an official statement over the matter, Yury Sanko, spokesperson for the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Belarus, told the private newspaper Salidarnasts. //BelaPAN