April 3, 2018. Review of the hearing in the case of a Danish believer in Oryol

On April 3, 2018, at 10:30 a.m., about four dozen people gathered in the building of the Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Orel. These are Christensen's relatives and friends, journalists from the Oryol media, lawyers, prosecutors and an interpreter. The prosecution is represented by the prosecutor of the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor's Office of the Oryol Region, 1st class lawyer Ivan Fomin and junior counselor of justice Nadezhda Naumova. The defendant's lawyers are Anton Bogdanov, Viktor Zhenkov, Irina Krasnikova. The defendant was provided with an interpreter.

At 10:44 a.m., Judge Alexei Rudnev opened the court session, and a few minutes later a convoy brought the defendant Dennis Christensen into the courtroom in handcuffs.

The court clarified the rights and obligations of an interpreter. He is allowed to ask only questions that clarify the meaning, he is criminally liable for knowingly incorrect translation. After that, the judge announced the rules of the meeting, the rules of conduct for those present, as well as the rights of the defendant. Christensen thanked the judge for the detailed explanation.

The court considered Christensen's application for permission to have a telephone conversation with his wife. The judge said that the result of the examination would be sent to him at his location (in the pre-trial detention center).

Lawyer Bogdanov filed a motion to extend the period for familiarization with the case materials, since, due to circumstances beyond the control of the defendant, he managed to familiarize himself with only 8 of the 12 volumes of the criminal case. In addition, he was not properly acquainted with the material evidence available in the case, which was collected by the investigators: video recordings, photographs, objects seized as a result of searches. Prosecutor Fomin objected to giving Christensen time to familiarize himself with the case materials, he considers this to be a deliberate delay in the process. After negotiations with the interpreter Uskov about the technical possibilities for familiarizing the defendant with the case materials, the judge partially granted the defense's request. Christensen will be allowed to familiarize himself with the materials of the case, but not with material evidence. He will have 6 more meetings with the interpreter and after that, on April 23, 2018 at 10:30, the meeting will continue.

At the end of the court session, those present had a few moments to say words of support to the believer. Christensen thanked everyone warmly.