Belarusian Evangelicals Protest Church Confiscation

Supporters of the New Life church conducting a hunger strike in Minsk on October 20 (RFE/RL) October 22, 2006 -- About 1,000 evangelical Christians and their supporters have held a demonstration in Belarus' capital, Minsk, to protest what they call discrimination by the authorities.

Supporters of the New Life church used the October 21 rally to call on the authorities to reverse moves to confiscate the church's building.

The demonstration was approved by the authorities and no police intervention was reported.

Laws in Belarus confer benefits on the country's dominant Russian Orthodox Christian Church.

(AP, AFP)