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Russia jails Jehovah’s Witness for six years in extremism case – Metro US

Russia jails Jehovah’s Witness for six years in extremism case

Russia jails Jehovah’s Witness for six years in extremism case
Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian court on Wednesday found a Jehovah’s Witness guilty of extremism and jailed him for six years, a spokesman for the Christian denomination said.

The United States and the European Union see the case of Dennis Christensen, a Danish national, as a litmus test for religious freedom and the latest twist in a worsening East-West standoff.

Christiansen, the first Jehovah’s Witness to be detained for extremism in Russia, had pleaded not guilty.

“Yes. It’s true unfortunately,” Yaroslav Sivulsky, a Jehovah’s Witness spokesman, told Reuters when asked if Christiansen had been found guilty and jailed for six years.

(Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Christian Lowe)