JUDGMENT TO OUR BROTHER CHRISTENSEN IN RUSSIA

[Bible Speaks]

JUDGMENT TO OUR BROTHER CHRISTENSEN IN RUSSIA
"Did he say anything about Satan?" The court questioned the first witnesses in the Dennis Christensen case
In the District Court of Eagle Train continued the trial of a Danish citizen Dennis Christensen, who is accused of organizing the activities of the prohibited in the Russian association "Jehovah's Witnesses - Eagle". On April 24, the court had questioned two witnesses in the case - FSB agent and a former parishioner "Kingdom Hall", who said about the search for truth, television and Satan. The meeting was seen by the correspondent of MBH Media.

The hearings on the Dennis Christensen case bring together a full courtroom. Support the Dane comes its supporters, the Russian spouse and, already in a professional line, three lawyers. Dennis himself communicates with the parties in the case through an interpreter, sometimes speaking in Danish, flirting with the audience. Christensen is taken to court "in full preparation for combat": wear a jacket, shirt and tie. He listens carefully to all the signals and takes notes in a large notebook. A smile on his face appears only when he sees familiar faces. A subject from the Kingdom of Denmark has been locked up in the Russian detention center for almost a year, eating a net and washing himself, in his own words, with a plastic bottle. However, with the harsh realities of insulation, it seems that he has already resigned himself. I did not accept only that he was an extremist.

On the eve of the trial, the prosecutor's office announced the charges against Christensen. It must be remembered that he was arrested in May 2017, after searches were conducted on the house on Zheleznodorozhnaya Street in Orel. As the FSB then reported, 1,500 copies of the literature were confiscated from the facilities, some of which, according to the ministry, were recognized as extremists. Among other things, the researchers took forms to reject blood transfusions, which, according to the religion of the Jehovah's Witnesses, their followers are prohibited. Christensen was charged under article 282.2 of the Criminal Code. The investigation and the prosecution are confident that, after the organization "Jehovah's Witnesses-Orel" in Orel in 2016, Christensen continued its activities. In particular, he conducted divine services, collected donations with the subsequent transfer of money to the account of the central office of the Jehovah's Witnesses, distributed literature and, in general, actively participated in the development of the association and the participation of the neophytes. The defenders of Christensen, expressing their position on the charges brought against him, on the eve of the day compared him to the genocide on religious grounds and asked the court to return the case to the prosecutor's office. However, Judge Alexei Rudnev found no reason to satisfy this request.

On April 24, the witnesses were summoned to the court. The first in the rostrum was an operations officer of the Oryol administration of the FSB. A young man in a gray suit, similar to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said he carried out operational search activities in February and March 2017. In particular, he was on duty at 50 Zheleznodorozhnaya Street, where, according to operational information , was the so-called "Kingdom Hall".

"Then, do not press the witness!" - Judge Alexey Rudnev strictly interrupted.

In the questions of the lawyers, the witness could not always answer clearly either, often leaving aside the memory.

- Did you go through the process of baptism in the Orthodox Church when you were a child? - Attorney Anton Bogdanov suddenly asked the Eschebeshnik.

Judge Alexei Rudnev reacted with lightning speed: "The issue is being eliminated". However, he allowed the defender to explain why he needed such intimate information. Bogdanov explained that he wanted to establish whether the witness had any basis for stipulating Jehovah's Witnesses because they were of different denominations with him.

- You, - Bogdanov asked, - have the services of other religions been in general?

"No," replied the FSB official.

- And why did you remove the literature, which was not on the forbidden list? The lawyer asked again.

"I do not remember all the names," the official began, but the president interrupted him.

"That's not the question," judge Alexei Rudnev explained. - The question is, on what was the literature that is not on the list based?

"Ah, that's the question ..." the FSB official shook his head. - No, I can not say this, since I did not make a decision about the attack.

- And how did you establish that the people who participated in the cult were members of the legal entity "Jehovah's Witnesses - Eagle"? - asked lawyer Irina Krasnikova.

"We received immediate information that the services of the forbidden religious organization are in the territory of this home," the operation told the court. - It was established that the followers and officials of the organization arrived there. This was recorded with the help of photos and videos.

According to the witness, the congregation was received by Christensen himself. The number of contingents did not exceed 20 people. The operator himself recorded the events of his arrival and departure, observing in part what was happening inside. In addition, explained the FSB official, he participated in the ORM, which consisted in capturing the conversation between the Danish and his acquaintance at a café on Oktyabrskaya Street. But with exactly who Dennis Kristensen spoke, the operative could not remember. Another witness said that he participated in the search of the apartment of Vladimir Melnik, also a representative of the Jehovah's Witnesses. The department was confiscated literature, even extremist.
The fact that books and pamphlets are prohibited, the employee knew, since during the search he had a printed list with him. But the question about who gave him this list answered briefly: "Colleague". When the lawyer asked if the colleague had a surname, the witness said he did not remember the name, but stressed that "I had no reason to distrust my colleague."
- And how was the literature kept? - asked the clarifying question of the prosecutor.

- She was in the cupboards and drawers in three rooms. It was stored carefully, - said the operative.

"Where did he get it?"

- Miller explained: something was given by acquaintances, something - Christensen. For reference.

When the second state prosecutor tried to obtain information from the witness about the person Christensen had met in the cafe, the FSB official said several times that he did not remember, as it was a long time ago.

"Well, remember, remember," said the employee of the prosecutor's office aggressively.

After questioning by the state prosecution, the witness began to answer protection questions. It soon became clear that everything the woman was telling (meetings, songs, literature and home visits) took place before the organization was recognized as extremist and forbidden. To go to his meetings, he stopped already in December 2015. And if he worked after this time, he does not know anything.

- When you attended worship services, did you become a member of an organization? - Asked the last question to lawyer Anton Bogdanov.

"No," replied the witness directly.

After the interrogation, President Alexei Rudnev also asked the woman what she thought the words meant about the need to fight against the state, did she explain how to do it?

"No," replied the witness. - I asked Irina. I do not know. And then, turn on the television, wherever they say: the state of Satan, "added the woman.

When his interrogation was completed, the court declared a break in the hearing until April 25. At the next meeting, two other witnesses should be questioned.

https://mbk.sobchakprotivvseh.ru/region/vy-chto-to-o-satane-govo/