Photo source: Kuzmafoto / depositphotos.com

Photo source: Kuzmafoto / depositphotos.com

Photo source: Kuzmafoto / depositphotos.com

Criminal trial

September 2018. Review of the hearing in the case of a Danish believer in Oryol

Oryol Region

In September 2018, the Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Oryol held 4 court hearings in the case of Danish citizen Dennis Christensen, who faces up to 10 years in prison (under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) solely on the grounds that he professes the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. The case is being heard by Judge Alexei Rudnev.

On September 4 and 5, 2018 , the court examined the materials found on electronic digital media seized during searches from Dennis and Irina Christensen, as well as from other believers in Oryol. Individual files (correspondence) were examined behind closed doors.

On September 25 and 26, 2018 , the court continued to examine the files found on the computers and phones seized from believers. The prosecutor drew attention to materials related to religious topics: books in electronic formats, abstracts, etc. On one of the media, a file was found with the text of a dialogue about faith, during which a website included in the FSEM was mentioned. However, in the course of studying the properties of this file, it was found that it was created long before the period imputed to Christensen, in 2013. Moreover, the file was found on the digital media not of Dennis Christensen, but of another person.

Further hearings in this case are scheduled in the Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Orel (Maxim Gorky St., 45-a) on October 8-10, 15-17, 22-24, 29-31, 2018.

Case of Christensen in Oryol

Case History
Dennis Christensen is the first Jehovah’s Witness in modern Russia to be imprisoned only because of his faith. He was arrested in May 2017. The FSB accused the believer of organizing the activities of a banned organization on the basis of the testimony of a secret witness, theologian Oleg Kurdyumov from a local university, who kept covert audio and video recordings of conversations with Christensen about faith. There are no extremist statements or victims in the case. In 2019, the court sentenced Christensen to 6 years in prison. The believer was serving time in the Lgov colony. He repeatedly asked for the replacement of part of the unserved term with a fine. For the first time, the court granted the request, but the prosecutor’s office appealed this decision, and the prison administration threw the believer into a punishment cell on trumped-up charges. Christensen developed illnesses that prevented him from working in prison. On May 24, 2022, the believer was released after serving his sentence and was immediately deported to his homeland, Denmark.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Oryol Region
Locality:
Oryol
Suspected of:
according to the investigation, together with the others he conducted religious services, which is interpreted as “organising the activity of an extremist organisation” (with reference to the court’s decision on the liquidation of the local organisation of Jehovah’s Witnesses)
Court case number:
11707540001500164
Initiated:
May 23, 2017
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the FSB Directorate of Russia for the Oryol Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-37/1
[i18n] Рассмотрено судом первой инстанции:
Zheleznodorozhniy District Court of the City of Oryol
Judge:
Aleksey Rudnev
[i18n] Суд апелляционной инстанции:
Орловский областной суд
[i18n] Суд апелляционной инстанции:
Льговский райсуд Курской области
Case History
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