Photo: Dennis Christensen outside the building of Jehovah's Witnesses in Orel, 2009
One of Jehovah's Witnesses, a Danish citizen, was arrested in the Oryol region for two months
Oryol RegionRespected in the circle of fellow believers, 44-year-old Dane Dennis Christensen was sent to the pre-trial detention center of the city of Orel for 2 months. He is charged with continuing the activities of an organization that was banned for extremism (Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). He was arrested on May 25, 2017, during a joint Bible reading conducted by local Jehovah's Witnesses in a building on Zheleznodorozhnaya Street.
On the evening of May 25, at 7:30 p.m., the street near the building belonging to one of the believers began to fill with cars and buses with armed masked men - riot policemen. Under the direction of an FSB investigator, the group entered the building and blocked believers who were forbidden to touch phones and tablets. Document checks, searches and interrogations continued until the morning. Searches were conducted in a number of believers' homes.
On Friday, May 26, 2017, Judge Svetlana Naumova decided to choose a measure of restraint in the form of detention for 2 months against Dennis Christensen. Dennis's wife, Irina Christensen, as well as lawyers, intend to use all possible legal remedies. The Consulate of the Kingdom of Denmark was notified of the incident.