Two Catholic priests Expelled from Russia
In February 2023, it became known that two Catholic priests had been expelled from Russia. Fr Mark Bakeżinski was the rector of the Catholic parish of Belgorod up until the moment he was arrested and expelled. He had been accused of allegedly "violating public order". Fr Michał Mżyglud was expelled from Novocherkassk, where he served as rector in the parish of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Both were Polish citizens.
SOVA Center for Information and Analysis reported the arrest of the rector of the Belgorod Catholic parish, Fr Mark Bakeżinski, a Polish citizen. He was detained on late January by law enforcement agents accusing him of "hooliganism" and "violating public order". The priest did not admit guilt and it was not possible to appeal this decision. Fr Mark was not fed during the first two days of detention and was interrogated by FSB (Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation) about why he was serving in Russia and not in Poland. He was later expelled and banned from entering Russia in the next 50 years.
Fr Michał Mżyglud, rector of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish in Novocherkassk, was also expelled from Russia after being arrested in late January. SOVA reports that according to official sources the reason for expelling him was that he was living outside the place of registration without notifying the authorities. Nonetheless, another official source told a different version to the "Belgorod No. 1" newspaper, where Fr Michał had been detained and expelled after being caught near a "strategic object" with a thermal imager.
Source: SOVA Center for Information and Analysis; RIA Novosti
Symbolic photo: Частное право