A day after reports emerged about the release of Catholic priests Henrikh Okolotovich and Andzhey Yukhnevich, no official information has yet appeared about their further situation. However, according to believers, immediately after their release they were taken out of the country, and both are currently in the Vatican, Katolik.life writes.
Meetings with them are expected in the near future, and official statements are set to be published. It remains unclear when the priests will be able to return to Belarus and how the situation will develop further.
In December 2024, Henrikh Okolotovich was sentenced to 11 years in prison on a charge of high treason, accused of “spying for Poland and the Vatican”.
The sentence for Andzhey Yukhnevich 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 arrest for the white-red-white and Ukrainian flags on Facebook, followed by several additional detention terms. He never regained freedom after that.
Henrikh Okolotovich and Andzhey Yukhnevich were recognised as political prisoners.