OREL APPEAL
HEARING IN CASE OF DANISH JEHOVAH'S WITNESS CONTINUED TO 28
SEPTEMBER
Jehovah's
Witnesses
in Russia, 21 September 2017
On 20 September
2017, after a four-hour session of the Orel provincial court, an
appeal hearing
in the case of the Dane Dennis Christensen, a Jehovah's Witness
who is being
held in the SIZO of the city of Orel, was adjourned. The reason
for this is
that the court of the first instance did not deliver to the
appeal a part of
the evidence of the defense that had been examined during the
consideration of
the question of the extension of the detention.
The court of the
first instance chose the harshest measure of restraint,
suggesting without
reason that Dennis Christensen could run away from the
investigation and the
court by leaving Russia. The lawyers pointed to the
excessiveness of such a
harsh measure of restraint. Investigators have confiscated the
believer's
passport and therefore he cannot physically exit from Russia. A
letter from the
Danish consulate was attached to the case which says: "On the
basis of
humanitarian considerations, the Royal Embassy of Denmark in
Moscow, in
supporting the petition . . . for substituting for the means of
restraint in
the form of detention in custody another means of restraint,
gives assurances
that the Royal Embassy of Denmark in Moscow will not provide a
new passport to
D.O. Christensen and will not assist D.O. Christensen in leaving
the territory
of the Russian federation."
The believer is
suspected of continuing the activity of the organization of
Jehovah's
Witnesses, which was liquidated by a court. In seeking his
complete acquittal,
at this stage the lawyers are asking the appellate court to
select for Dennis
Christensen a measure of restraint in the form of bail or house
arrest. The
appellate hearing will resume in the Orel provincial court on 28
September 2017
at 14:00. (tr. by
PDS, posted 21
September 2017)
APPEAL AGAINST
EXTENSION OF DETENTION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESS FROM DENMARK TO
BE HEARD IN OREL Jehovah'
Witnesses
in Russia, 19 September 2017 On 20 September
2017, the Orel provincial court will consider the appeal of
a ruling by the
Soviet district court of the city of Orel by which the term
of detention in
custody of Danish citizen Dennis Christensen was extended by
another 4 months.
The believer is suspected of continuing the activity of the
organization of
Jehovah's Witnesses, which was liquidated by a court.
Lawyers are asking the
appellate court to rescind the order to extend the term of
prison confinement
and to select for Dennis Christensen a measure of restraint
in the form of bail
or house arrest. The decision to
extend the term of detention in custody was issued on 20
July 2017 by Judge S.
Naumova, the very same judge who issued the original
decision to choose a
measure of restraint in the form of prison confinement of
the believer.
Actually, in deciding the question of extending the term of
detention in
custody and establishing the existence of a reason for
selecting this measure
of restraint, Judge Naumova was supposed to decide whether
her own previous
actions in applying the rules of the Criminal Procedural
Code of the RF,
regulating the process of choosing a means of restraint,
were appropriate and
sufficient. In other words, she was reviewing a question
regarding which she
had already previously issued a decision, which is
impermissible in Russian
jurisprudence. In accordance with this, an unsuccessful
challenge against the
judge was announced in the session. The judge also
ignored arguments of the defense regarding the excessiveness
and groundlessness
of such a harsh means of restraint. For example, in the
session there was
examined an excerpt from the Uniform State Register of Legal
Entities and also
the charter of the liquidated organization, which confirm
that Dennis
Christensen, although he is a Jehovah's Witnesses by
religious profession, was
not and could not have been a founder, member, or leader of
the aforesaid
registered religious association, and that means he could
not be charged with
continuing its activity. However, in her ruling the judge
did not even mention
this and did not give an evaluation of any of the evidence
presented by the
defense. (tr. by PDS, posted 21 September 2017)
Danish
Jehovah's Witness still in jail
July 22, 2017
Court
refuses to grant habeas corpus to Danish Jehovah's Witness
June 22, 2017
Danish
Jehovah's Witness remains in Russian jail
June 13, 2017
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