Minsk, Belarus - A total of 132 believers of the New Life Protestant church are taking part in a hunger strike that began in Minsk on Friday in the course of a stand-off against authorities, BBC quoted Belarusian human rights group Charter-97 as reporting on it website.
People from many Belarus cities arrive in Minsk to defend the church, representatives of the church said. Several dozen people stayed in the church building overnight. Some 500 people attended a service Monday.
The Protestants announced an indefinite hunger strike in an attempt to oppose the actions by the Minsk City Executive Committee. It was decided to hold prayer services every day and to organize a protest rally in Minsk’s Bangalore Square on 21 October.
In July, the economic court of Minsk obliged the New Life church to sell its building to the Minsk City Executive Committee for 17,000 dollars and to vacate the premises before 8 October.