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A court in Russia has refused to release a Jehovah's Witness, Danish citizen Dennis Christensen, who was sentenced to six years in prison on extremism charges that have been condemned by rights groups in Russia and abroad. The Jehovah’s Witnesses' website said that a court in Russia's western region of Kursk on October 26 refused to replace Christensen's unserved term with a fine despite the fact that the same court had approved such a move in June. Christensen was arrested in May 2017 and sentenced in February 2019. On June 23, the Lgov district court paroled Christensen after he served half of his sentence and ordered him to pay a fine of 400,000 rubles ($5,250) in place of serving the rest of his sentence. However, that ruling was overturned by the Kursk Regional Court and sent for retrial after local prosecutors had appealed the parole, insisting that Christensen had violated prison rules. The religious group's website said that the administration of the penal colony in the town of Lgov in September had labeled him a "malicious violator" of the penitentiary's regulations. According to the website, Christensen was placed in solitary confinement three times as punishment for his refusal to carry out work, due to his medical condition. https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-court-refuses-to-release-jailed-jehovah-s-witness-calls-him-malicious-violator-/30915097.html

Dennis Christensen was to be released after serving 3 years of his sentence—there is a formula in Russia for counting each day of pre-trial detention as 1.5 days of actual time—but the Ministry of Justice has appealed. He is now in a special holding cell. He was guilty of ‘misconduct’ during his term, the MOJ charges. He had organized an English class for fellow inmates—how bad can his ‘misconduct’ be? They are trying to break him, Watchtower HQ says, and everyone with a brain in their head knows it is so. His ‘misconduct’ was not renouncing his faith. I couldn’t believe it when I heard of his early release. Two days later, I saw that I was right not to believe it. The reason I could not believe it is that it flew in the face of recent Russian escalation of efforts to stamp out the faith. The stiffest prison term yet had just been imposed upon sixty-one-year-old Gennady Shepakovsky. Is he not a little old for such harshness, especially when his “crime” is no more than worshipping God per the tenets of his faith? The judge of the case suggested that Jehovah’s Witnesses (there are 175,000 of them!) go to a country where their faith is “more needed.” I thought of how the prophet Amos was told exactly that by rebellious servants of the king: “Off with you, seer, flee to the land of Judah and there earn your bread by prophesying! But never again prophesy in Bethel for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.” It is exactly how an anti-God world responds to hearing his words. This comes directly on the heels of the MOJ appealing its own victorious verdict against another Witness because the sentence imposed was insufficiently harsh. This comes directly on the heels of another Witness having his citizenship revoked. These penalties are unheard of—even a crime-boss does not have his citizenship revoked—the Ministry of Justice comes across as unhinged in its hatred of a faith—for that’s all these ones are—members of a faith—and everyone of sense knows it. Russian enemies are fighting Christianity, for none of these convicted ones are guilty of anything other than being Christian—and the most exemplary of Christians at that: Christians who will not kill, Christians who will not steal, lie, fall into sloth, do drugs, abuse alcohol, Christians who do more than their share to contribute to the common good. It is possible to overplay one’s hand and in so doing provide a glimpse into a deeper reality. There is no human explanation that makes sense for such over-the-top ill-treatment. Therefore, it dawns upon some to look for a super-human explanation. At the Kingdom Hall, a weekly segment for 2 or 3 years running has been a consideration of the book, Jesus’ Life and Ministry, detailing events of his life in chronological order. Last night, his post-Passover final meeting with his disciples came up for examination. Was it to be always easy sailing for those who would stick with him? “Men will expel you from the synagogue. In fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he has offered a sacred service to God”—Jesus’ words of John 16:1-2 were reviewed. See why Dennis is not unprepared? He has been fortified with these words all his of his life. He has also been fortified by Revelation 2:10: “Look! The Devil will keep on throwing some of you into prison so that you may be fully put to the test, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Prove yourself faithful even to death, and I will give you the crown of life.” It is also to be mentioned John 15: 19-21: “If you were part of the world, the world would be fond of what is its own. Now because you are no part of the world...for this reason the world hates you. Keep in mind the word I said to you: A slave is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me [Jesus], they will also persecute you; if they have observed my word, they will also observe yours. But they will do all these things against you on account of my name, because they do not know the One who sent me.” So Dennis is not unprepared. He is bummed, no doubt—how could anyone not be? but probably not unprepared. He knows who he is battling, and it is not men. If I didn’t believe his early release, he probably didn’t, either—“not until it is in the bag,” he would have said. He knows he is up against the Devil, standing up as a test case almost like that of Job. The humans don’t matter—if one of them forgets his/her lines or has a change of heart, he is replaced by someone true to the wicked cause of a play that has not only continued from Jesus’ time but is coming to a head. A friend who has traveled to Russia tells me that the brothers there are cautious—but they have always had to be cautious. They find satisfaction in knowing that their resolute stand answers the taunts of the Wicked One before the entire world. Of course, Dennis had no way of knowing that he would be the test case—no doubt he does not like that. Or maybe he does. You never know. Some Witness survivors of the Holocaust are on record as saying that they would not have traded away their experience if they could, for it gave them opportunity to give answer to the Devil before the world. They mirror the attitude of certain first-century Christians who, upon release from abusive treatment, went out “rejoicing because they had been counted worthy to be dishonored in behalf of [Jesus’] name. (Acts 5:41) Is it a coincidence that the weekly Bible reading schedule that Witnesses adhere to has rolled around to Exodus chapter 5, about how Moses’s first foray to Pharaoh initially went badly for the Israelites? ‘Afterward, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh: “This is what Jehovah the God of Israel says, ‘Send my people away so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.’”... “The king of Egypt replied to them: ‘Why is it...that you are taking the people away from their work?’... That same day, Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters and their foremen: “You must no longer give straw to the people to make bricks. Let them go and gather straw for themselves.... Make them work harder, and keep them busy so that they will not pay attention to lies.” (Exodus 5: 1-9) “Hmm. Is there anything today that corresponds to supposedly good news being turned on its head like in Moses’s time and unexpectedly made harsh news?” I asked myself, and then I read about Dennis being shoved back into the slammer. The events even parallel in how the faithless ones back then charged that Moses had made a hash of his assignment and should have left matters alone—just as faithless ones today have charged that the Witness organization reads the situation wrongly and makes it worse for the Russian Witnesses. “They’re no Moses!” the villains will say. Maybe not, but in this case the developments could not have paralleled those of Moses more closely. In fact, the modern Russian brothers put the Israelites to shame, for the latter did blame Moses for their problems. “May Jehovah look upon you and judge, since you have made Pharaoh and his servants despise us and you have put a sword in their hand to kill us,” they accused the one assigned to deliver them. (vs 21) “There’s something happening here—what it is ain’t exactly clear,” sings the Buffalo Springfield—50 years too soon and on the wrong stage. The fog is dissipating fast. Russia becomes the most visible nation to fight against God. “The kings of the earth take their stand, and high officials gather together as one against Jehovah and against his anointed one” (Psalm 2:2), and Russia acts as though wanting to lead the charge. You never know when a given king will read ahead and decline to play the game, for the ending bodes ill for them: “Ask of me, and I will give nations as your inheritance,” God says to his son, “and the ends of the earth as your possession. You will break them with an iron scepter, and you will smash them like a piece of pottery.” So far, though, most are adhering to script. Matters are coming to a head—you can smell it. Is it reasonable to insist that Exodus 5 finds a parallel in today’s Russian events? No. But it’s reasonable to suggest it—just as it was reasonable to suggest that the then-scheduled Bible reading of the Assyrian army assaulting Jerusalem prepared the hearts of Russian brothers who were facing immanent ban of their organization in 2017. Is it reasonable to look at these parallels? It hardly matters. Reason has had its day in the sun. It has been weighed in the scales and found wanting. The point of 2 Timothy 3: 1-5 is that in the last days people would forget all about reason, and a host of other stabilizing qualities. Does it seem that reason is the order of the day in light of the Covid 19 epidemic, as punctuated by protests escalating to riots as a black man’s death at the hands of police stokes mayhem around the world? Jehovah’s Witnesses are among the few—at least in my American home—who without fuss don masks. Normal meetings and methods of ministry are suspended, and it is almost as though ones are retreating to interior rooms until the denunciation passes. Anger, not reason, becomes the order of the day, and it is not so foolish to lie low. The world is not friendly to Christian values. The persecution that Jesus guaranteed would visit his followers is not to be averted. But it can be guaranteed, as Paul said to Agrippa, that this thing will “not be done in a corner.” It will receive maximum publicity so that whoever is of good heart will be moved by it. This the Witness organization has done and continues to do. ...This post will soon be appended to the free ebook: Dear Mr. Putin - Jehovah’s Witnesses write Russia. The book is in ‘safe’ and ‘unsafe’ version—the only difference being that in ‘safe’ version, all quotes from Watchtower publications are redacted. Even if is the New World Translation quoting Jesus on how we must love our enemies. “Redacted for reader safety,” it will say.

On June 23, 2020, at 19:50 Lgov district court, considering Dennis Christensen's petition for mitigation of his sentence, replaced his unexpired part of the prison term with a fine of 400,000 rubles. A Jehovah's Witness convicted of faith will be released after the court ruling enters into force. The hearing was attended by Danish diplomats. No one else, including Dennis' wife Irina, was allowed into the building. Christensen himself attended the hearing via video. Dennis Christensen was arrested on 25 May 2017 and sentenced to six years in prison in February 2019. The court considered it extremist that the believer continued to gather with his fellow believers for religious meetings and welcomed them before the religious service. However, there were no victims of Christensen's "crimes". To date, the believer has actually been behind bars for about 3 years and 1 month. However, taking into account the fact that according to the law, one day in the pre-trial detention facility equals 1.5 days in the general regime colony, Christensen has served more than 4 years of the term appointed by the court. "From the moment of his arrest Christensen has behaved and behaved respectfully and correctly towards the employees of the investigation and court, the pre-trial detention facility and the employees of correctional colony № 3. He independently organized free English language training for prisoners, maintains friendly relations with other convicts," said Christensen's lawyer, explaining to Galina Petlitsa the grounds for the mitigation of punishment to the believer. The lawyer described the mistakes made by the courts, which put Christensen in prison. As stated in an appeal ruling of the Supreme Court on October 18, 2016, which confirmed the liquidation of the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses "Oryol," believers in Russia "are not deprived of the opportunity to perform their own religious worship. Contrary to this, the courts interpreted Christensen's private religion as the continuation of a banned legal entity. "Judge Galina Petlitsa made a fair decision. This is a brave and honest act, which is not often decided recently by the judges hearing the cases of Jehovah's Witnesses," said the representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses, Yaroslav Sivulski. Replacing the punishment of a believer means for Christensen the opportunity to go free without any additional restrictions, except for the obligation to pay the fine, said Christensen's advocate. Currently, there are 10 convicts in Russian colonies for the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses, while another 24 people are imprisoned. A total of 353 people who hold the views of Jehovah's Witnesses are accused of extremism for their Christian faith. The religious persecution continues despite assurances from the Russian government and Vladimir Putin that there is no reason to persecute Jehovah's Witnesses. https://jw-russia.org/news/2020/06/16.html #dennischristenssen #jwrussia

On May 24, 2019, Markus Grübel, the German Commissioner for Global Freedom of Religion, spoke in connection with the fact that the Russian appellate court upheld the sentence of Dennis Christensen. “I regret the decision of the court that rejected the appeal in the case of Christensen,” said Markus Grübel. “I am concerned about the situation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. Freedom of religion and ideology is an important human right. Every state should respect it. Religious freedom is indivisible and is valid for all religious communities.” https://www.jw-russia.org/en/news/19061216-931.html

Letters of support to Dennis Christensen can be sent to the Penal Colony #3 in the Kursk Region located: Primakova Street, 23A, Lgov, Kursk Region, 307754, Russian Federation. Emails are also accepted via the “FSIN-letter” system. https://jw-russia.org/en/news/19061115-921.html

El tribunal de la región rusa de Oriol confirmó este 23 de mayo del 2019 la pena de 6 años de prisión al danés Dennis Christensen, seguidor de Testigos de Jehová, culto prohibido en Rusia en 2017. El danés, de 46 años, de los cuales 20 con residencia en Rusia, fue condenado en febrero de ese año tras ser declarado culpable de extremismo por ser miembro activo de Testigos de Jehová, y el tribunal regional desestimó este jueves 23 de mayo la apelación presentada por su defensa. “Aquellos que saben qué ocurre con los Testigos de Jehová en Rusia deben sentir vergüenza por su país. En el siglo XXI en un Estado de derecho son inadmisibles las acusaciones y delaciones falsas, así como las torturas”, declaró Christensen en su último alegato antes de que el tribunal rechazara la apelación. El danés aseguró que fue condenado solo por ejercer la libertad de culto, derecho consagrado en la Constitución de Rusia. La defensa de Christensen anunció que recurrirá la decisión en instancias superiores. “La decisión de las autoridades rusas de dejar en vigor esta condena es un atentado contra el derecho a la libertad de culto y de reunión”, denunció la investigadora de Amnistía Internacional (AI). Según AI, la decisión de Rusia de considerar Testigos de Jehová como organización extremista es una grave violación a la libertad de culto. En el país se han abierto 74 causas penales contra quienes siguen esta religión, con un total de 188 imputados. https://www.ultimasnoticias.ec/las-ultimas/testigo-jehova-culpable-extremismo-rusia.html

Mientras el mundo condena el hecho de que en Rusia se sentencia a Testigos de Jehová a duras penas de cárcel por el único crimen de practicar su fe, China aplaude dicha persecución. Massimo Introvigne El 6 de febrero de 2018, un tribunal ruso condenó al ciudadano danés Dennis Christensen a seis años de cárcel por participar en actividades de los Testigos de Jehová, un grupo prohibido en Rusia. Luego de la condena de Christensen, la policía está implementando una nueva ola represiva en varias provincias rusas, arrestando a más Testigos de Jehová. En Rusia, los Testigos de Jehová fueron “liquidados” en el año 2017 bajo acusaciones de “extremismo”. Las reacciones de organizaciones internacionales y países democráticos contra estas decisiones han sido unánimes, desde el Departamento de Estado de los Estados Unidos hasta la Unión Europea, la cual solicitó que “el Sr. Christensen sea liberado de forma inmediata e incondicional” y que los Testigos de Jehová “puedan disfrutar pacíficamente de la libertad de asambleasin injerencias, tal y como lo garantiza la Constitución de la Federación Rusa, así como también los compromisos internacionales efectuados por Rusia y las normas internacionales de derechos humanos”. No obstante, Rusia puede contar con un aliado “inmediato e incondicional”, China. El Partido Comunista Chino (PCCh) es consciente de que la noción de “movimientos religiosos extremistas” es sustancialmente la misma que la categoría de xie jiao en China. Tal y como señaló el académico procedente de Hong Kong, Ed Irons, en China, el “sitio web chino antisectas” es considerado como la voz del PCCh en lo que respecta a temas relacionados con cualquier grupo identificado como una “secta”, y sus declaraciones gozan de un estatus semioficial. Mientras el mundo esperaba la sentencia de Christensen, este sitio web relacionado con el PCCh publicó un detallado artículo en apoyo de la posición rusa con respecto a los Testigos de Jehová. “Es razonable que los Testigos de Jehová sean estrictamente controlados o incluso completamente prohibidos” (“耶和华见证人”受到严厉控制甚至全面取缔乃属情理之中), afirmaba el artículo. El mismo mencionaba una lista interminable de acusaciones de naturaleza antisectaria contra los Testigos de Jehová. Existe una diferencia entre la persecución rusa de “grupos extremistas” y la represión china llevada a cabo contra los xie jiao. Mientras el PCCh intenta protegerse a sí mismo contra cualquier posible amenaza proveniente de movimientos religiosos que considera hostiles al Partido, Rusia intenta proteger la posición monopolística de la Iglesia Ortodoxa Rusa, un aliado incondicional del régimen, contra cualquier competencia no deseada. El sitio web chino antisectas no parece apreciar completamente esta diferencia. El sitio apoya la postura rusa que afirma que los testigos de Jehová deben ser prohibidos porque “amenazan a la religión rusa predominante: la reputación y el entorno vital de la Iglesia Ortodoxa” (而且威胁着俄罗斯主流宗教——东正教的声誉和生存环境) y porque están “erosionando los cimientos de la Iglesia Ortodoxa” (也在明显侵蚀着东正教的根基). El hecho de que la Iglesia Ortodoxa deba ser protegida de sus críticos es un comentario curioso en una publicación realizada por el PCCh, a pesar de que dentro del PCCh hay quienes argumentan de manera similar que el monopolio de la fe cristiana protestante de la Iglesia de las Tres Autonomías controlada por el PCCh debería ser igualmente protegido. En China existe una presencia clandestina de Testigos de Jehová, con cifras difíciles de evaluar. Los mismos no están incluidos en la lista de xie jiao, pero sus actividades son consideradas ilegales y Bitter Winter ha informado sobre medidas enérgicas implementadas contra actividades misioneras de los Testigos de Jehová que llegan a China desde Corea. https://es.bitterwinter.org/china-apoya-la-persecucion-de-los-testigos-de-jehova-llevada-a-cabo-por-rusia/

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RUSSIA / DENNIS CHRISTENSEN .. Õ•Õ•Õ•Õ• (From: Eduardo Diaz) Õ•Õ•Õ•Õ•Õ• Â April 9, 2018. Â Â The lawyer Bogvadov who takes the case of Danish Dennis Christensen in Russia accused of "Religious Extremist", requested time in court on the day of the trial, to be able to review the material available for his case, since due to circumstances beyond his control only I had been able to examine 8 of the 12 available folders. Nor was Christensen familiar with the available evidence collected by investigators, such as photographs, and video recordings, as well as some objects seized as a result of the search. To this request, the public prosecutor Fomin was against to grant time to Christensen, because I consider it something intentional to leave the case. But shortly after some negotiations with the translator Uskov about the technical possibilities in the legal field, to allow the lawyer and the accused to become familiar with the available materials of the case. The Judge granted a partial motion to the defense. Giving Dennis Cristensen and his lawyer the opportunity to review and become familiar with the 12 folders but not with the available evidence. The trial will resume on Monday, April 23 at 10:30 a.m. Â Â At the end of the session, the audience was allowed to be composed of his wife and, in large part, by friends and brothers, who could confirm his love and affection as well as share words of encouragement and tell him how the whole brotherhood supports him, since he is in thousands of prayers all over the world, Dennis was grateful for such expressions of affection.

LAST MINUTE The Oriol Court extends the preventive detention of Dennis Christensen On February 22, 2018, Judge Aleksey Rudnev, of the District Court of Zheleznodorozhniy in Oriol, decided to keep Dennis Christensen in preventive detention until August 1, 2018. Mr. Christensen is being prosecuted for organizing the activity of a religious organization that has been declared an extremist. In fact, he was arrested while attending a Christian religious meeting that was assaulted by the police in May 2017. The preliminary hearing began on February 19, the period during which the judge deferred the decision on motions that both parties presented. However, at the February 22 hearing, the judge denied all motions filed by Mr. Christensen's lawyers and decided to extend his preventive detention. The criminal trial will be on February 26 at 2:30 p.m. Jehovah's Witnesses around the world are concerned about Mr. Christensen's well-being and pray that his wife, Irina, can persevere with the support of her husband. He has already been in preventive prevention for nine months. On February 26, 2018, the start of the main hearings on the criminal case against Denis Christensen was scheduled. He is accused of continuing the activities of the Jehovah's Witness organization, which was liquidated by the court. In fact, Christensen has nothing to do with this organization. He only used the right that "everyone" is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, that is, the right to have religious beliefs and to act in accordance with them. NOTE FROM THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THIS GROUP: I feel a deep shame for the theatrical show that is giving the Russian justice, a simple puppet in the hands of the government and the Russian Orthodox sect. Thousands of Russians gave their lives in World War II to reign democracy and freedom of religion in their country. The current government, mamporrero of the Orthodox sect, has destroyed this registry of martyrs. Our brother Denis is being TORTURED in a demonic way for serving the Almighty Jehovah. Pray for him and others unjustly treated.

LAST MINUTE Our brother Dennis Christensen, imprisoned in a Russian jail since May 2017 awaiting trial, has been sentenced to another 3 months, so he must be locked up in difficult conditions until 23 February 2018. He can then be sentenced to several more years. Judge Andrei Tretyakov during the 3-hour hearing did not satisfy the defense's request to replace the preventive measure in a softer one, such as house arrest. In addition, the court did not take into account the formal guarantees of the Royal Danish Embassy (the brother is a Danish citizen) who, for humanitarian reasons, has given assurances that he does not provide a new passport for Christensen captured by the investigators and is not going to Promote your trip outside the Russian Federation. Dennis Christensen is completely innocent. I will persist in denouncing the shameful repression on this and all the other Russian witnesses, with an attitude towards defenseless and innocent people. - https://jw-russia.org/news/17112020-262.html

Human Rights Center: https://memohrc.org/news/memorial-priznal-politzaklyuchennym-veruyushchego-svidetelya-iegovy-iz-danii-dennisa "Memorial" recognized the political prisoner of the believing Jehovah's Witness from Denmark Dennis Christensen The case against Christensen is one of the first in the campaign to prosecute Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. Denmark's national Dennis Ole Christensen, a believing Jehovah's Witness who lives in Orel, is charged with committing a crime under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 (organization of the activity of a religious organization in respect of which a decision was made to liquidate in connection with the implementation of extremist activities) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to the investigation, Christensen heads the religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in Orel. FSB officers detained Christensen on May 25, 2017 during a meeting in a building on Zheleznodorozhnaya Street, where the Oryol Jehovah's Witnesses together read the Bible. On May 26, Svetlana Naumova, a judge of the Sovietsky District Court of Orel, decided to select a preventive measure in respect of him in the form of detention. The case against Christensen was one of the first in the campaign to prosecute Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, which intensified sharply after the Supreme Court on April 20, 2017 decided to recognize the Jehovah's Witnesses' Center in Russia as an extremist organization. Moreover, Christensen became the first in the modern history of Russia, a Witness of Jehovah, who was deprived of his freedom due to religious affiliation. The decision to select a preventive measure against Christensen states that he allegedly "committed organizational actions aimed at continuing the illegal activities of the IDPs of Jehovah's Witnesses" Eagle "and expressed in the convocation of meetings of JWO Jehovah's Witnesses" Eagle "..., the organization of preaching activities, the distribution of financial Funds of IDPs of Jehovah's Witnesses "Eagle". In our view, the charges against Christensen only on the basis that he is a believing Jehovah's Witness are discriminatory and violate international legal acts, in particular the right to freedom of religion. The decision of the Oryol regional court to recognize the extremist local religious organization (LRO) of Jehovah's Witnesses "Eagle" and its liquidation and the decision of the Supreme Council to recognize the Russian "Jehovah's Witnesses" as an extremist organization and ban its activities in the country do not have legal grounds and contradict Art. 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation guaranteeing the right to freedom of conscience and religion. We demand an immediate end to the persecution of Dennis Christensen and other Jehovah's Witnesses who are persecuted for their religious affiliation. Recognizing a person as a political prisoner or being persecuted for political reasons does not mean either the consent of HRC "Memorial" with his views and statements, nor the approval of his statements or actions. Yandex-purse of the Fund for Assistance to Political Prisoners of the Solidarity Union for Political Prisoners to Assist All Political Prisoners 410011205892134. More details about the case, see here .

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Officials in the Russian city of Oryol thanked a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses for their community service. The group included Dennis Christensen, who was recently arrested for attending a peaceful religious gathering. Source

Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia have been victims of aggressive religious discrimination by both Russian authorities and vandals. Source

Watch FSB storm a JW meeting in Orel, Russia, and detain Dennis Christensen Обыски в офисе Свидетелей Иеговы в Орле