APPEAL HEARING IN CHRISTENSEN CASE TO CONTINUE ON 8 MAY
Jehovah's
Witnesses in Russia, 7 May 2019
On 7 May 2019 the Orel district court began hearings on
the appeal
against the harsh sentence of Dennis Christensen, a Jehovah's
Witness from
Denmark. The continuation was scheduled for 8 May, at 11:00
a.m., and also for
16 and 17 May, at 10:00 a.m. A spacious room was selected.
The case is being heard by a panel of judges: Olga
Zuenko, chair;
Alexander Bukhtiyarov, and Andrei Rogachev.
The believer insists on his innocence. He was arrested
by FSB troops in
May of 2017. After 622 days in the SIZO [pretrial investigation
cell], on 6
February 2019 he was found guilty under article 282.2 (1) of the
Criminal Code
of the Russian Federation. He was sentenced to six years
imprisonment to be
served in a penal colony of general regime. The sentence was
challenged and
therefore it has not taken effect. The defense filed an appeal
and an
additional appellate complaint.
Dennis Christensen is still in SIZO No. 1 for Orel
oblast. One can send
to him letters of support. The story of his criminal prosecution
and its
consequences is narrated in an eleven-minute video "The
Christensen case:
Faith higher than prison walls." (tr. by PDS, posted 7 May 2019)
OREL OBLAST COURT UNABLE TO REVIEW APPEAL OF DENNIS
CHRISTENSEN IN ONE
DAY
On 7 May, consideration of the appeal of Dennis
Christensen was begun
in Orel oblast court. The court of the first instance found
the Dane guilty of
arranging the activity of the "Jehovah's Witnesses—Orel"
organization, which is considered extremist and banned in
Russia, and it
sentenced him to six years imprisonment. The believer's
defense attorneys
appealed this decision. More than fifty fellow believers came
to the court to
support Christensen. Judge Olga Zuenko even had to declare a
technical recess
and to move the session into a more spacious room, since not
all could be
accommodated in the original location.
When the session finally got to the stage of
consideration of the
appeal on the merits, Christensen's lawyer Anton Bogdanov
filed a petition to reveal
the identity of a witness, who testified in the court of the
first instance
under a pseudonym, "Aleksei Ermolov." According to the defense
attorney, Ermolov is none other than Oleg Kurdiumov, yet
another one of the
witnesses in the Christensen case. That is, one and the same
person spoke as a
witness twice. In addition, Bogdanov insisted that the court
examine fragments
of audio and video evidence, which, in his opinion, testify to
the illegality
of the decision that was rendered. In particular, he asked
that a video of a
worship service be carefully studied in addition to an audio
tape of telephone
conversations between Christensen and other believers. The
Dane, who
communicated with everyone through a translator, supported the
defense lawyer's
requests completely.
In his turn, the state prosecutor urged the court to decline the petition of the defense attorneys, inasmuch as in her view there were no grounds for granting it.
Presiding judge Zuenko turned down all petitions of the defense, saying that they were premature. The judge said that the requests may be resubmitted at the stage of the verification and examination of evidence.
The essence of the appeal, which took the judge a very long time to read because of the language barrier, amounted to a request to set aside the sentence and to acknowledge Christensen's right to rehabilitation, inasmuch as the court of the first instance considered the case with "a clear prosecutorial bias." The charge is a discrimination and a violation of the right to freedom of religious confession, the attorneys insisted.
The state prosecutor did not agree with the opinion of attorney Bogdanov. In her opinion, there are no arguments for setting aside the sentence; the punishment is legal and justified.
With this, the first day of the session ended. A new hearing is scheduled for 8 May. (tr. by PDS, posted 8 May 2019)
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