Photo: Dennis Christensen during the trial

Photo: Dennis Christensen during the trial

Photo: Dennis Christensen during the trial

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

In the wake of the Christensen case: another search took place in the homes of believers in Oryol

Oryol Region

On October 10, 2019, in the city of Oryol, FSB officers conducted searches in the homes of believers at at least two addresses. As it became known, the searches took place at the relatives of Dmitry Prikhodko, the criminal case against which was previously separated from the case of Dennis Christensen.

The security forces asked questions about where believers gather and what literature they read. DVDs were seized during the searches.

On May 23, 2019, the Oryol Regional Court sentenced Dennis Christensen to 6 years in prison just because he adhered to peaceful religious beliefs that the judges considered "extremist". This verdict undermined the explanations of the Russian authorities, who assured international authorities that the ban on religious organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia did not restrict their right to practice this religion.

The high-profile trial of Danish citizen Dennis Christensen caused not only indignation of human rights activists in Russia, but also international condemnation. Worse, the verdict gave the green light to intensify criminal prosecution of Russian residents for their faith.

Shortly after Christensen's verdict, another resident of Orel, Sergey Skrynnikov, was convicted on similar charges, receiving a large fine.

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

Christensen
Dennis

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
Considered by the Court of First Instance:
Zheleznodorozhniy District Court of the City of Oryol
Judge:
Aleksey Rudnev
Court of Appeal:
Орловский областной суд
Court of Appeal:
Льговский райсуд Курской области
Case History
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