Dennis Christensen

Country:
Russia
Key Fact:

Danish citizen and Jehovah's Witness

Charges:

"Organizing the activities of an extremist organization” (Article 282.2(1) RCC)

Detained Since:

May 25, 2017

Release Date:

May 24, 2022

Biography:

Dennis Ole Christensen is a Danish citizen, carpenter-by-trade, and entrepreneur imprisoned for his religious activity as a Jehovah’s Witness. Since the Russian Supreme Court declared Jehovah’s Witnesses an extremist organization and banned its activities in 2017, authorities have consistently targeted, arrested, and imprisoned Jehovah’s Witnesses under the banner of counter-extremism for their peaceful religious activity.

On May 25, 2017, police, including members of the Federal Security Service (FSB), raided a Jehovah’s Witness worship service in Oryol, western Russia. Dennis, who reportedly gave a sermon during the service and unlocked the building where the service took place, was arrested and charged with “organizing the activities of an extremist organization” (Article 282.2 (1) of the Russian Criminal Code).  Prosecutors produced wire-tapped phone call transcripts and secret witnesses that implicated Dennis on having discussions about a religious publication, helping organize worshipers to maintain the upkeep of their place of worship, and persuading people to worship with him. On February 6, 2019, the Zheleznodorozhny District Court found Dennis guilty and sentenced him to six years in prison at a penal colony. On May 23, 2019, the Oryol Regional Court rejected Dennis’s appeal and upheld his sentence. 

In June 2020, after more than 1,000 days in detention, a judge from the Lgovsky District Court of the Kursk Region replaced the remaining time of Dennis’s sentence with a fine of 400,000 rubles. Instead of being released following the court decision, however, state prosecution challenged the ruling. In September 2020, the Kursk Regional Court reversed the prior court’s decision to release Dennis and instead sent his case back to the court for a new trial.  In October 2020, the Lgovsky District Court upheld Dennis’s original 2019 sentence, citing his refusal to work in the colony, which Dennis asserts was because of health issues. In February 2021, the Kursk Regional Court upheld the Lgovsky District Court’s October 2020 ruling. Dennis is scheduled to be released in May 2022.

While imprisoned, Dennis has been forced to live in a “punishment cell” on three separate occasions for allegedly violating prison rules. In June 2020, Dennis was placed in a small, poorly ventilated cell reserved for violent offenders for 15 days after being accused of entering the dinning hall at the wrong time, not wearing his jacket to dinner, getting up late, and talking to other prisoners. In mid-July 2020, Dennis was placed in a punishment cell again for 5 days, citing his refusal to work for health reasons. In September 2020, Dennis was put in a punishment cell again after being accused of refusing to work. These arbitrary remands into punishment cells served as the court’s basis to uphold his original sentence. He is currently being held at Penal Colony No. 3 in the Kursk Region.

In September 2019, Dennis contracted pneumonia, reportedly as the result of inhumane living conditions. In May 2020, Dennis’s health continued to deteriorate after prison authorities “lost” his medical records and refused to provide him with necessary medical care. Dennis also suffers from an unspecified neurological issue that causes pain when performing specific types of labor.

On May 24, 2022, Dennis was released from prison after completing his sentence. The next day, he returned to Denmark. 

Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List

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