Two Catholic priests have been pardoned and released in Belarus. The decision was made by Alyaksandr Lukashenka, BelTA reported. The statement said the priests had “committed serious crimes against the state.”
It was noted that the decision was made “in view of intensified contacts with the Vatican, as well as principles of goodwill, mercy, and the Jubilee Year declared in the Roman Catholic Church.”
The press service of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Belarus reported that the priests Henrikh Okolotovich and Andzhey Yukhnevich were released.
“The Roman Catholic Church in Belarus welcomes the state’s positive trends in international affairs, the renewal of dialogue between the Republic of Belarus and the United States, and the strengthening of contacts with the Vatican.
We are satisfied with the visit to Belarus in October 2025 by the High Representative of Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, and with the agreements reached. He is a long-standing friend of the Republic of Belarus, who has done much for the Catholic Church in our country, as well as for the development of state-church and interfaith dialogue.
His visit gave a positive impetus to further contacts, an important result of which was the decision of the president of the Republic of Belarus, as a sign of mercy and respect for the Pope, to pardon and release the Catholic priests serving sentences in places of detention,” the statement said.
It was noted that direct and significant involvement in the process also came from the Apostolic Nuncio to Belarus Ignazio Ceffalia and the chairman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Iosif Staneuski.
In December 2024, Henrikh Okolotovich was sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges of treason, accused of “spying for Poland and the Vatican.”
Andzhey Yukhnevich’s sentence was handed down in April this year. He was sentenced to 13 years in a penal colony. Last year the priest received 15 days of detention for displaying the white-red-white and Ukrainian flags on Facebook, followed by several more arrests. He never regained his freedom after that.
Okolotovich and Yukhnevich were recognized as political prisoners.
