(Editor's Note: Scott Hogenson is traveling in and reporting from Russia as part of a delegation of American journalists sponsored by the Russia Information Agency. Sergei Blagov also reported for this article.)
An American student facing trial on criminal smuggling charges for attempting to deliver $48,000 in charitable donations for Baptist churches in Russia claims to have learned from a U.S. government official that his prosecution is being fueled by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Andrew Okhotin, who attends Harvard Divinity School, was detained and interrogated at Moscow's Sheremetyevo 2 International Airport March 29 after declaring the money to customs officials. The trial will be held in the district court of Moscow August 13, and Okhotin faces up to five years in prison if found guilty.
"The Orthodox Church is involved in my case," Okhotin said, saying he learned the information from "a source who is employed by the U.S. government. He asked not to be identified specifically, but he did receive that information."
When contacted by a CNSNews.com correspondent, an official for the Moscow Patriarchy who refused to identify himself said only that he could not see any way the church could have been involved in Okhotin's case. "It would be logical to contact the Baptists for comments on this case," the official said.
American Embassy officials in Moscow were not available for comment.
Okhotin was delivering the donations to the International Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists in Russia when he was taken into custody by customs officials, who confiscated the money after Okhotin refused to make payments sought by interrogators.
Authorities released Okhotin into the custody of his brother David, who lives in Moscow, ordered him to not leave the city, and allowed him to keep his American passport.
But four months after his detainment, the reasons for Okhotin's prosecution remain unclear, resulting in allegations of corruption and religious persecution by the Russian Orthodox Church, the largest in the Russian Federation.
Explanation for prosecution murky
From a legal standpoint, the case has raised questions about why the 28-year-old Okhotin is being prosecuted at all, primarily because his lawyers say there's nothing in Russian law that prohibits bringing large sums of money into the country.
Russian authorities and Okhotin have made contradictory statements about the facts of the case, with Okhotin claiming officials attempted a shakedown when learning he had a large sum of cash to deliver to an un-registered Baptist denomination.
Officials at the American Embassy in Moscow previously told \b CNSNews.com that corruption of this nature is not uncommon in the Russian Federation.
Okhotin said he gave officials a completed customs form declaring the money when asked for one, and he questions why he wasn't simply redirected to a different customs corridor at the airport.
Prosecutors, on the other hand, say Okhotin was immediately guilty of smuggling when he entered the "green" customs corridor -- meaning he had nothing to declare -- instead of the "red" corridor, which is for visitors with items to declare.
A Moscow police investigator has also reportedly stated she saw little grounds for criminal prosecution in the case, and said she was pressured into pursuing the case, according to Okhotin's lawyer.
Church pressure on civil authorities alleged
There is also growing speculation by human rights activists, religious scholars, and senior Russian politicians that the Russian Orthodox Church may be involved in pressing the case, raising questions about religious persecution of one faith by another.
The church's history of involvement with otherwise secular affairs in the Russian Federation is well documented by American diplomatic officials.
An October 2001 report on religious liberties abroad by the U.S. State Department noted that the church, which dominates religious life in Russia, "has entered into a number of agreements" with the federation government on matters including "law enforcement and customs decisions."
Some Russian politicians also acknowledge the church's sway with civil authorities.
According to Tatarstan President Mintimer Shaimiev, who spoke through an official translator, "If there is some kind of, maybe, partisan approach or negative approach, mostly it comes from this patriarchy" of the Russian Orthodox Church, particlarly in matters involving church registration, a process which is complex and costly.
Tatarstan is a predominently Muslim republic in the Russian Federation, and Shaimiev said both the Russian Orthodox Church and Islamic clerics there have spoken on the issue of non-traditional religions.
"We have to explain... to the people what is good and what is bad, and here, the (Russian Orthodox) patriarch and the Muslim clergy - they're very cautious with the feelings of the believers," Shaimiev said in an interview last Friday.
Russian human rights activist Ludmila Alexeeva, president of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, had no specific information about Okhotin's case, but accused the Russian Orthodox Church of trying to stifle some religions "because they don't want competition."
"They try to use government administration to stop activity of other churches," said Alexeeva, who subscribes to the Russian Orthodox faith and wears an Orthodox medallion around her neck. "I see that in religious persecutions. It's not government or president, but Russian Orthodox Church."
A similar argument was made by Boris Falikov, an associate professor at the Center of Comparative Religious Studies at the Russian State University of Humanities.
Falikov claims Russian authorities are "clearly biased" in favor of the Russian Orthodox Church, and speculates that such bias may result in additional scrutiny by customs officials when non-traditional religious missionaries enter the country.
Okhotin said he was not visiting Russia as a missionary, but came only to deliver the charitable contributions to the Baptist denomination and conduct research for his Harvard studies.
In Okhotin's case, Falikov said it was unclear whether customs officials targeted the student because of his religion or whether it was simply a case of bad luck.
Prosecution's basis in law questioned
Aside from broad assertions of guilt that are hotly disputed by Okhotin, Moscow prosecutor Vyacheslav Kozlov is keeping quiet on the matter. Several attempts to contact Kozlov were unsuccessful, and an aide in the prosecutor's office told a CNSNews.com correspondent that Kozlov would not comment on the matter.
Anatoli Pchelentsev, an attorney with the Slavic Center for Law and Justice who is representing Okhotin, said, "There are many value judgments involved" in what he called "a very complex case."
Pchelentsev said Okhotin's prosecution doesn't make sense to him for several reasons. According to Pchelentsev, there are no restrictions in Russian law on how much foreign currency a person may bring into Russia, so long as that person leaves the country with less money than when they entered.
Another contradiction for Pchelentsev is that Moscow police investigator Olga Pugacheva allegedly said she had been "pressured to prosecute" the matter, but did not elaborate. Pchelentsev also declined to speculate further, saying it's "a difficult situation in this case."
Orthodoxy 'at the heart' of being Russian
The Russian Orthodox Church is by far the largest and most powerful in the Russian Federation, comprising more than 50 percent of the registered religious organizations in the country, according to the State Department.
While there is no state church or religion in the Russian Federation, the 2001 State Department report noted that, for many Russians, "at least nominal adherance to the Russian Orthodox Church is at the heart of what it means to be Russian," while others consider the faith to be "the de facto official religion of the country."
The Baptist denomination to which Okhotin intended to deliver the contributions is considered a non-traditional faith. It has operated in Russia for decades but has not formally registered with the government.
Under the Russian Federation's 1997 Religion Law, non-registered churches are restricted in what they may do and are routinely forbidden from opening bank accounts, owning property, proselytizing and a variety of other church related activities. Non-registered churches may also be "liquidated" by the state, essentially shutting them down.
Mixed emotions as trial date approaches
With his August 13 trial less than one month away - and the prospect of five years in a Russian prison looming before him - Okhotin expressed mixed feelings over his impending day in court.
"As a person of faith, I have a deep sense of the outcome. In other words, God, first of all, will not allow them to do anything contrary to his plans," said Okhotin, who was born in Uzbekistan and immigrated with his family to the U.S. in 1989.
Faith aside, Okhotin's future will be decided by a Moscow judge with no jury. "If you're asking me, 'Am I confident in the fairness of the trial,' I tell you, 'No, I have no confidence in that.'"
Okhotin's concerns mirror those of his lawyers. "There's been no logic in terms of what has happened within the legal framework of Russia's system," said Okhotin. "There's been no correspondence to say that the outcome of the case is predictable based on law."
"Do I expect a favorable outcome?" Okhotin asked rhetorically. "There's a very slim chance of that."
While Okhotin remains under state detention awaiting trial, the Russian Orthodox Church has offered a vocal defense of six male parishioners charged with hooliganism for allegedly vandalizing a controversial art display at the Sakharov Museum in Moscow.
The exhibit, entitled 'Beware: Religion!' sparked outrage among the Russian Orthodox clergy for its portrayal of the church. Cleric Alexander Shargunov, minister at the St. Nicholas Church in Moscow, said July 17 that it was the "Satanic organizers of the exhibition (who) committed hooliganism."
Shargunov said, "The investigation team turns the situation upside-down by finding hooliganism in Orthodox Christians' rightful reaction" to the exhibit, and said pursuing legal action against the six men would amount to putting the church on trial.