{"id":558632,"date":"2026-07-10T11:29:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T08:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reform.news\/?p=558632"},"modified":"2026-07-10T11:35:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T08:35:29","slug":"alleged-sham-priest-detained-in-vitsyebsk-region-over-alleged-orgies-rituals-and-alcohol-fundraising-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/alleged-sham-priest-detained-in-vitsyebsk-region-over-alleged-orgies-rituals-and-alcohol-fundraising-scheme","title":{"rendered":"Alleged Sham Priest Detained in Vitsyebsk Region Over Alleged Orgies, Rituals and Alcohol Fundraising Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Officers of the Main Directorate for Combating Organised Crime and Corruption (GUBOPiK) of the Interior Ministry, with the support of the “Rys” special forces unit, have detained a 40-year-old resident of the Vitsyebsk Region accused of organising the activities of pseudo-religious organisations, including those designated as “extremist” in Belarus.<\/p>\n

According to the Interior Ministry, the man created social media accounts through which he offered church-related services and posted pornographic material. The ministry alleged that he corresponded with people in Belarus and abroad, offering to perform religious ceremonies and rituals for payment, while also collecting donations purportedly to equip a church. The funds were allegedly spent on alcohol instead.<\/p>\n

The ministry further alleged that the suspect organised group sexual activities at his home without informing his partners that he was HIV-positive. It also claimed that he subjected an acquaintance to violence, prompting the latter to express suicidal intentions.<\/p>\n

According to the ministry, the man had previously served a prison sentence for committing indecent acts against minors, distributing pornography and stealing religious items.<\/p>\n

Criminal cases have been opened on charges of the illegal operation of a religious organisation and the production and distribution of pornographic materials. The suspect has been placed in a temporary detention facility.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Screenshot from the video: t.me\/pressmvd<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Screenshot from the video: t.me\/pressmvd<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Screenshot from the video: t.me\/pressmvd<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Screenshot from the video: t.me\/pressmvd<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Screenshot from the video: t.me\/pressmvd<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Officers of the Main Directorate for Combating Organised Crime and Corruption (GUBOPiK) of the Interior Ministry, with the support of the “Rys” special forces unit, have detained a 40-year-old resident of the Vitsyebsk Region accused of organising the activities of pseudo-religious organisations, including those designated as “extremist” in Belarus. According to the Interior Ministry, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":558631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sharing_image":{"poster":"https:\/\/reform.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6a50aed5284e0.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"template":"691142dd","mode":"auto"},"_sharing_image_fieldset":{"dTVKfmI95PYT":"Alleged Sham Priest Detained in Vitsyebsk Region Over Alleged Orgies, Rituals and Alcohol Fundraising Scheme"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[142339,142338,143127,143094],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-558632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main","category-news","category-society","category-incident"],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}