May 14, 2018. Review of the hearing in the case of a Danish believer in Oryol

The Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Oryol continued the hearing in the criminal case of Dennis Christensen, who has been in the local pre-trial detention center for almost a year for his faith.

The meeting opened at 10:40 a.m. Three prosecution witnesses appeared in court. Their rights and obligations were explained to them and they were invited to the hall one by one.

The first to be interviewed was the district police officer Maxim Ranev, on whose territory there is a building in which Jehovah's Witnesses held their services. After the court decision to liquidate and ban the activities of the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses, Orel, Ranev did not visit this building, did not go inside. He also explained that he could not distinguish the activities of a religious group from the activities of the LRO, since he did not have the right to conduct operational-search activities.

The second witness for the prosecution, Eduard Gavrikov, said that his mother, with whom he does not live, professes the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Gavrikov honestly admitted that he treats Jehovah's Witnesses negatively, considers this religion to be false. He knows about divine services from the words of his mother. Christensen came to his mother's apartment to help rescue her niece, who could not leave the bathroom because of a broken lock. When Gavrikov was asked what he meant by the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses, he replied that they were people who believed in Jehovah God. He never attended the services of the Witnesses because he did not see the point in it. He himself is Orthodox, he was baptized in the Orthodox Church, by his own admission, without asking for his consent.

The third witness for the prosecution, Pavel Azarenkov, is an FSB detective. He kept an eye on Christensen at the place of worship. Everything was recorded on special audio and video recording equipment. Before the defense could ask the witness their questions, the court adjourned until May 15, 2018.