On 3 March 2022, Orthodox mothers of soldiers planned to pray together at the evening service in the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Minsk. On the same day, the event was announced on the anti-war Telegram channel, Mothers’ Union. Law enforcement agencies attempted to disrupt the event. 20 minutes before the 6 pm. evening service, Yeuhien Batura and Dziyana Seradzjuk— journalists of the Novy Čas newspaper and a married couple — were detained near the Cathedral. They were taken to the temporary detention centre on Akrescina Street. On 4 March, the judge of the Centraĺny District Court of Minsk, Dzmitry Karsyuk, imposed each of them 15 days of administrative arrest under article 24.3 (Disobedience to a lawful order or demand of an official in the exercise of his official powers) of the Code of Administrative Offenses. Before the service, special vehicles of law enforcement agencies and plainclothes riot police and ordinary police officers were arrived to the Cathedral. At the entrance, they checked documents took photographs and videos of many women. During the service, law enforcement officers in plain clothes with walkie-talkies were continuously moving inside the church. Women prayed and some had icons in their hands; there were no political slogans or banners. Despite Rev. Ihar Latushka’s request to leave the women alone, four parishioners — Anastasia Nekarshevich, Aksana Fiodarava, Tatsiana Kotes, and Katsiaryna Mikhailava — were detained allegedly for identification after the service. In the police bus, their passports and smartphones were checked for subscriptions to opposition Telegram channels and photographs from the protests. The women were taken to the Centraĺny District Department of Internal Affairs of Minsk. They were interviewed and warned about the consequences of taking part in unauthorized rallies; then they were released. On 4 March, police arrived at the house of another woman who had attended the service in the Cathedral the night before and was photographed at the entrance. She was not at home. The Norwegian human rights organization Forum 18 reportedon this incident.
