Belarusian human rights defender, former political prisoner, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and his wife Natalia Pinchuk met with Pope Leo XIV.

The news was reported by the publication Zerkalo, citing the Telegram channel Christian Vision.

During the meeting, Bialiatski told the pontiff about the human rights situation in Belarus. He also asked the Pope for prayers and attention to the “humanitarian catastrophe” that, according to him, is unfolding in the country.

The human rights defender also handed the Pope a written appeal describing the situation of political repression in Belarus. He reminded him that around one thousand political prisoners remain in the country, including women, elderly people, people with disabilities, and parents of large families.

Bialiatski also addressed the issue of pressure on religious communities and clergy of different denominations, including Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and Protestants. In particular, the letter mentions Catholic priest Anatolii Parakhnevich, who was arrested in March 2026 and suffered a heart attack while in detention.

The human rights defender also thanked the Holy See for assisting in the release of priests Henrikh Akalatovich and Andrzej Juchniewicz in November 2025. However, he noted that pressure on believers and clergy continues. According to him, the released priests cannot return to their parishes, and their property has been confiscated.

In the appeal, Bialiatski also writes about the closure of churches, including the Red Church in Minsk, the liquidation of Greek Catholic communities, and the expulsion of missionaries from Belarus. According to him, hundreds of thousands of Belarusians, including clergy members, have been forced to leave the country because of repression.

Part of the letter is devoted to Russia’s war against Ukraine and the role of the Belarusian authorities in it. Bialiatski called the regime of Aliaksandr Lukashenka “an accomplice in the war” and a source of instability in Europe. However, he stressed that Belarusians themselves oppose the war. According to him, more than 200 citizens of Belarus have been imprisoned for their anti-war stance and support for Ukraine.

Ales Bialiatski asked Leo XIV for public support for political prisoners, protection of freedom of religion in Belarus, and assistance in achieving peaceful democratic change in the country. According to the human rights defender, the voice of the Pope remains an important moral authority for Belarusian society.

Earlier, we reported that the Belarusian authorities refused permission for five Catholic priests and one monk of the Minsk-Mahiliou Archdiocese, all holding Polish citizenship, to continue their ministry.

As LF reported, three Catholic priests who are Polish citizens and who had served in Belarus for many years were forced to leave the country. The authorities refused to extend their permits for continued ministry. All of them served in the Viciebsk Diocese.

As LF wrote, Catholic priest Anatolii Parakhnevich, rector of the parish in Alkovichi in the Vileika District, was detained.

Earlier, state propaganda media mentioned the priest in a negative context after his participation in a reception for Poland’s Constitution Day held at the Ukrainian embassy in Minsk, attempting to portray it as something suspicious.

It later became known that Anatolii Parakhnevich had suffered a heart attack. The 65-year-old cleric remains in a pre-trial detention center in serious condition. As far as Belarusian believers know, Parakhnevich is accused of “treason against the state.” There is no information about the specific charges. It is assumed that the priest is being held in the KGB detention center.

Earlier in Belarus, a Catholic priest and two Evangelical presbyters were detained.

As LF reported, two Polish Catholic priests who had served for many years in the Brest Region were forced to leave Belarus.

As LF reported, in Belarus the KGB ordered the seizure and sale of the property of Catholic priest Henrikh Akalatovich. The clergyman had been convicted “for treason against the state” and was released two years later following a petition from the Vatican.

As is known, the authorities in the Brest Region liquidated all parishes of the Greek Catholic Church. The court ruling refers to an alleged “threat to national interests.”

Earlier, we reported that in Belarus the number of religious communities declined after re-registration under new legislation. In the Mahiliou Region, half of the Catholic parishes ceased operating after re-registration. In the Viciebsk Region, 85 Roman Catholic communities remained instead of the previous 94, and in the Brest Region there were 60 instead of 66.

As LF reported, the authorities did not allow priest Uladzislau Zavalski, former rector of the Red Church parish in Minsk, to hold a service at the sarcophagus of the church’s founder, Edward Woyniłłowicz.