Quick Facts
Biography
Ernst (Ernest) Sabila (Belarusian: Эрнст Сабіла or Эрнэст Сабіла, born March 18, 1932) is a Belarusian Protestant religious leader, dissident and Gulag survivor.
Born in the village Dziehciarouka (now part of Minsk), he studied at the Minsk Medical Institute.
In 1951, while still a student, he was arrested by Soviet authorities and accused of religious and nationalist propaganda. He was sentenced to death but the sentence was then replaced by a 25 years labour camp improsonment.
In 1964, after 13 years in a Gulag labour camp, Ernst Sabila was released and returned to religious activism in Belarus. From the moment of his release, he was under constant surveillance of the KGB.
In the 1970s, he managed to receive a part-time degree at the Minsk State Linguistic University.
In 1988, he became presbyter of the Evangelian church of Belarus. In 1989, pastor Sabila took part in the founding conference of the Belarusian Popular Front.
Since late 2000s (decade), Ernst Sabila is among the members of the revived Belarusian Christian Democracy.