The secret police of Belarus is putting pressure on religious bodies to support the government, after a disputed presidential election. The Belarusian Orthodox Church removed Archbishop Artemy of Grodno, who said he was deposed “on the orders of the state,” as part of a “general purge” of clerics who resist demands to pray for the regime and to drop prayers for political prisoners.

The government has put heavy pressure on Catholic priests who are deemed sympathetic to pro-democracy protesters. One such priest, Father Vyacheslav Barok, fled to Poland after receiving a warning from the regime.