In Russia this April, a Baptist pastor was jailed for professing his faith. Pavel Pilipchuk’s five-day detention was brief, but excessive. It followed his refusal to pay a heavy fine for organizing street evangelism in the city of Oryol, around 200 miles south of Moscow. By not informing city officials of his plans, a local court ruled the pastor had violated Russia’s law regulating public demonstrations. Pilipchuk’s plea that “Christian hymns and conversation are not demonstrations” fell on deaf ears. So did his appeal to Russia’s constitutional guarantees of religious freedom. …read more
Source: Atlantic Council