Cast in Russia as 'enemy within', Jehovah's Witnesses see Soviet history replay

Dennis Christensen, a Jehovah's Witness accused of extremism, leaves after a court session in handcuffs in the town of Oryol, Russia January 14, 2019. REUTERS/Andrew Osborn

ORYOL, Russia (Reuters) - The first Jehovah's Witness detained for extremism in Russia has likened the authorities' behaviour to that of Josef Stalin's Soviet Union ahead of a verdict in his trial.

Armed police scaled the gates of a compound where the Christian denomination was meeting in Oryol, some 200 miles (320 km) south of Moscow, in May 2017 and detained Dennis Christensen, a Danish national, on extremism charges.