RE: D O; Baptist; Oryol; 14 August; Article 5.26, Part 5; 14 August fined 40,000 Roubles.
For those interested in following up on one of the arrests made of a foreigner under the new anti-missionary activity law in Russia, that I wrote abouton August 26, you may go to this site that is updated by the one charged with the crime.
On August 14th, 2016, three policemen came to our Sunday morning Bible study. Afterwards, they took me to the police station and charged me with conducting missionary activities in violation of a new law that took effect on July 20, 2016. At a court hearing, I was found guilty and sentenced to pay a fine of 40,000 rubles, which is over $600.
His lawyers argued the case for his innocence, but they lost in the local lower court and local appeals court. He now will need to appeal in Moscow.
If you read each of the reports, you will see how ‘the system’ works. Regardless of this new law and how it is ultimately interpreted and applied, the way the system works will remain the same. People with authority are above the law, not subject to it; people with authority can use various laws to their advantage, given the potential contradiction among many laws.
Pray for ‘missionaries’ — Russian and foreign that they may be faithful to God, being as wise as a serpent and as harmless as a dove. Pray for clarity and consistency to come out of this case for the sake of the gospel in Russia (which now includes Crimea).
Georges