U.S. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM COMMISSION RECOGNIZES RUSSIAN JEHOVAH'S WITNESS AS PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE
Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, 27 September 2018
On 26 September 2018, Kristina Arriaga, vice-chairwoman of the United State Commission on International Religious Freedom, announced the inclusion of Dennis Christensen, who has been in a Russian prison for his faith for almost a year and a half now, in the list "Religious Prisoners of Conscience," which is kept by this organization. The list is intended for concentrating the actions of the commission on the release of specific prisoners and calling attention to their harsh situation and the general state of freedom of religious confession in their countries.
The official press release of the commission notes: "Dennis Christensen was arrested in the city of Orel on 25 May 2017 after an assault on a worship service in which he was participating. As of 13 September 2018, Christensen has faced a district court in Orel 38 times. He is threatened with up to ten years of prison. [. . .] In April 2017 the Russian Supreme Court declared the Jehovah's Witnesses to be an extremist organization and banned its activity."
"However these religious associations only strive to professes their views peacefully and without fear and anxiety," the press release also says. "At the time of his arrest, Dennis was reading the Bible along with his fellow believers. The international community should support the human rights recognized in all the world and insist on release. . . . Dennis and many other citizens are imprisoned in Russia for their religious views and activity."
In 2018 the United States Commission on
International
Religious Freedom included Russia in a list of "countries causing
special
concern." According to the rules of the commission, these are
countries
whose governments conduct systematic, continual, and flagrant
violations of
freedom of religious confession. (tr. by PDS, posted 28 September
2018)
Link to USCIRF's Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project
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