The Federal Commissioner for Religious Freedom around the World is concerned about the situation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia

On May 24, 2019, Markus Grübel, Federal Commissioner for Religious Freedom Worldwide, commented that the Court of Appeal upheld the sentence of Jehovah's Witness Dennis Christensen.

"I regret the court's decision to dismiss the Christensen appeal," said Markus Grübel, "The situation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia is of concern to me. Freedom of religion and worldview is an important human right. Every state must respect it. Religious freedom is indivisible and valid for all religious communities."

A huge number of Russian and international figures and organizations unanimously condemn the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. These include the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation, the President of the Russian Federation, prominent public figures of Russia, the European Union External Action Service, observers of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Russian government has repeatedly stated that the decisions of the Russian courts on the liquidation and prohibition of organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses "do not assess the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, do not contain a restriction or prohibition to practice the above teachings individually." Nevertheless, Russian security forces in 40 regions continue to conduct night raids on the homes of believers and throw them into prisons.